Ianto Tales
by musingwoman
Summary: Stories from Ianto's youth up to starting at Torchwood 3. Just a little AU.OK a lot AU but action packed!  25. How to describe this one? answers getting closer? maybe.
1. Working Memory

Note. very absent for months from FF. Too much RL and no inspiration, then found a challenge on LJ, and this is the Bunny that resulted. Non Brits - 'John Lewis' is a department store not a person. Americans think 'Nordstroms.' YOs are young offenders.

Working Memory

Ianto Jones's has a good memory. It is eidetic, useful in Torchwood's researcher and Archive supremo. His training has enabled him to compartmentalise, store and retrieve memories as needed. Vital to enable him to function – when you remember everything, you need to be able to decide on what is important otherwise the trivial overwhelms the necessary, and focus is lost.

He wished he could do this for emotion as well, compartmentalisation of memories only goes so far however, which is why that** Bastard **pushed all his buttons today and why he was now pacing the floor of the hub, tie askew, hands rubbing through his hair, waiting on Jack's decision.

His mood was not helped by Tosh and Owen studiously going about their business as though nothing had happened, and Gwen observing him like a bug stuck on a pin head.

It had been an innocuous retrieval mission. Jack and Gwen examining the artefact, whilst Ianto took crowd control. Not that there was much crowd to control at 5 am in a soggy Newport industrial estate. This was Ianto's territory though. He grew up near here; this was where he learnt his street skills. Running from the local Bobbies and security guards. Climbing fences, leaping cars, scaling roofs and always running, running for the sheer joy of being alive, for the buzz of getting away, getting one over on the middle aged pricks who just didn't understand why they weren't in school or working. Usually a little high on whatever skunk they could afford – sharing out a single joint between the three of them. He remembered being amazed when he found out he was involved in a legitimate sport – Parkour it was called, although he suspected it was usually undertaken without benefit of THC. Eyes unfocussed, lost in the memory of the last time he had been here, Ianto did not notice the Police car pull up in front of him. He pulled back his focus as the door slammed and a familiar figure sauntered up to him.

"Well, well, well, Ianto Jones, and in a suit no less. What did a worthless shite like you have to do to get a nice outfit like that?" the officer looked him up and down "Been nicking from John Lewis? Or have you started working for Evans the Pimp?"

Ianto knew that he was a grown up, that he had a legitimate reason for lurking around this particular electronics factory, and had the power of Torchwood behind him, but the combination of his reminiscence, coupled with the recognition of his chief nemesis on the local force combined to cause a tsunami of adrenaline, anger and fear. He still does not actually recall throwing Sergeant Blayney, against the wall and sweeping his feet out from underneath him, he only knows it because Gwen told him that was what he did. His memory starts again from the point where the second officer in the car is attempting to cuff him, and Gwen and Jack are shouting at him to let him go. Ianto is embarrassed by his lack of control, and disturbed that he cannot remember his actions. Being that out of control – that is causing him to pace as much as waiting on whatever Jack decides is suitable punishment.

Jack had to pull all his Torchwood authority to stop them taking Ianto into custody. Blayney was unconscious having cracked his skull on both the brick wall and the concrete path when Ianto attacked him. Jack had been silent, mouth a grim line as Gwen hustled Ianto into the SUV.

Jack had disappeared into his office with a curt "Wait" half an hour ago. Gwen had updated Tosh and Owen in stage whispers, and now he waited. Knowing he would be able to remember every second until Jack decided to deal with him.

Finally Jack emerges from his office. "Ianto, My office now!"

Ianto makes his way over, three pairs of eyes boring into his back, he feels mildly faint and both hot and cold at the same time.

"You Lot! Work to do!" Owen, Tosh and Gwen immediately pretend to be very interested in their computer screens.

Ianto has to brush past Jack to get into the office. Jack peers at him and Ianto blushes. Jack looks grim, but his scent disconcerts Ianto, associated as it is with both pleasure and betrayal. He realises that Jack has thrown him off guard, and whatever equilibrium he had found whilst waiting is gone. (Little enough to begin with.) He waits in front of Jack's desk, and Jack takes his time walking around to his seat, observing Ianto all the time. He resists the urge to fidget, finally giving in, shifting from foot to foot and tugging his shirt sleeves down. Jack's gaze lingers a moment on his grazed knuckles, from where they caught against the brick wall. Then his eyes walk up to Ianto's face, slowly as though committing every inch of his Armani to memory.

Jack sits. Ianto waits. He tries to clear his throat without noise, and fails.

Jack picks up some paperwork and reads it avidly, signing it off with a flourish. He repeats this four times.

Ianto decides that he can wait. He stands in what he imagines is an at ease position, hands clasped behind his back, feet apart. Jack glances up as he moves, and then continues to ignore him.

The phone rings, making Ianto jump a little having tuned out a little a few minutes before.

"Harkness"

…

"Mmhm. I see."

….

"Right, thanks. No problem. I'll deal with it."

"Well it looks like Sergeant Blayney is going to be OK. Bit concussed, but lucid. Unfortunately he should be back on the beat within a couple of weeks."

Ianto is dumbfounded. "Unfortunately?" he manages to croak out.

"Spoke to a friend of mine in Newport, youth worker. Told me all about Blayney. Seems he has quite a reputation amongst the YOs around abouts."

Ianto nods.

"Take it you came across him?" Jack raises an eyebrow, requesting Ianto's side of the story

Ianto runs his fingers through his hair, takes a deep breath. "He arrested me and my mate once, not saying I was innocent mind, but once he got us into custody, well let's just say he didn't follow procedure. We were used to being manhandled if we got caught, it was just par for the course and you knew it was coming, but he's a right sadist. He gets off on it. Didn't touch me too much, 'cos he knew that I had family who would complain, but Sam carried the bruises for weeks. Broke three of his fingers. Likes his nightstick does Sergeant Blayney. I know for a fact that he feels up any girls he arrests or "Stops and Searches". He's not above manufacturing evidence if they complain as well."

Ianto pauses for breath.

Jack nods. "I think he needs a little Torchwood intervention a la Tosh" and smiles a grim little smile. He then starts again on his paperwork, leaving Ianto standing once more.

After while Jack looks up. He pretends to be surprised Ianto is still there, but Ianto knows he has not been forgotten.

"Get me a coffee please."

Ianto turns to go then pauses half way through the door as Jack speaks. Just loud enough and menacingly enough for the others to hear.

"If you ever endanger a mission in that way again you will be suspended without pay and confined to the cells for a week."

Ianto nods, and carries on.

* * *

No offence to those police officers who do an amazing job with YOs. Blayney is, I know a rogue element, who most Coppers would hate on sight.


	2. Nature reserved

So, a sort of prequel to working memory. Based on a real young offender's story (apart from the supernatural bits!) Dialect is from Buckinghamshire England rather than Wales, but I think it won't be too far off. Batty Boy is a derogatory term for a Gay man. Boffin is an educated person. The attitude expressed by Gazzer is unfortunatley prevalent amongst this strata of society, and yes they are able say paedophile.

* * *

"Oy Ianto, yer know that perv wot lives down your road? The batty boy at number 15? We were thinking we should show 'im wot's wot."

"How do you know he's a batty boy?"

"Well he just is int 'e? Everyone knows if you're a batty boy then you're a paedophile, so we're gonna teach him to hang 'round 'ere!"

"Yer know just cos you're gay it doesn't mean you're a perv."

"Ooh Ooh Ianto's a Gay boy luvver!"

"Just sayin' is all."

"Well you comin' or wot?"

"Na, I'll give it a miss. Need to do a bit of school work, keep Mum and Dad happy."

"Ya know wot Ianto? You're a fucking wuss. That's wot you are. A bleedin' boffin. Just make sure you say nuffing, or else!"

Ianto nodded, eyeing up the baseball bat in Gazzer's hands.

Gazzer and his crew walked off and left Ianto leaning up against the metal shutter of the local convenient store (shut, so not that convenient.) He drew deeply on his fag, throwing it to the path and stamping it out before walking off in the opposite direction. He was deeply conflicted, sometimes he felt split in half, living on the estate he had to find ways to blend in, so he tried running with Gazzer's crew but he hated the ignorant prejudice of it all, if he tried to fit with the kids at his Grammar school, he was bullied because his accent didn't fit and his uniform was second hand; "Christ, add to that, the fact that Gazzer was bleeding gorgeous to look at, and he was completely fucked." Ianto thought.

He considered calling the cops, but he was street wise enough to know that the only reason Gazzer had told him what they were going to do, was that he would have seen them heading towards number fifteen, all tooled up for a fight. He was unhappy, but not suicidal. He prayed to a deity he wasn't sure existed that Pete was out. He actually quite liked Pete, who often helped his Mum carry the shopping from the bus.

Ianto carried on walking, off the estate into the Allt-yr-yn nature reserve. It was weird how this area of land had been left, nestling between his council estate and the posh private estate to the east. He thought that the posh people had probably insisted on it as a kind of buffer zone, to keep them apart from the peasants.

The nature reserve was where he went to get away from everything that bothered him. It was calm, quiet and wild. He had seen creatures here that he had only seen in wildlife documentaries, some of the birds he had to look up in books at the library. He half heartedly went round the fitness trail, stopped for another fag on the bench at the end, sitting on the back, feet on the seat, just because he could. Then he headed west, down the hill where the undergrowth grew thick, holly bushes vying with bracken and saplings for what light there was available. He needed to get lost, to be nowhere. Convince himself that Pete would be OK, and that someday, he would be too.

Ianto stepped in a pool of wet mud, the cold stopping the constant round of thoughts in his head, and helping him back to the here and now. Which was …..nowhere like he thought he would be. He shook the mud off his trainer, cursing, leaning against the bole of a very sturdy Ash tree. Sun shone down through the canopy in brilliant rays, illuminating the clearing before him. Emerald green grass, dotted with wildflowers was surrounded by magnificent and ancient trees, Oak, Ash and Thorn alternated in an almost perfect circle. Inside the circle tree trunks lay, also Oak, Ash and Thorn. In the centre of the circle a magnificent but dying, ancient oak tree, fully twenty feet round, reached broken limbs to the blue sky, and out to the surrounding trees. A huge hole pierced the trunk nearly all the way through, and in it sat a small, wizened man. He was knotting a sturdy rope, very skilfully, whilst staring intently at Ianto. He cackled disconcertingly loudly, and suddenly the circle was full of creatures, all male (naked and wrinkly), all cackling, the sound growing in volume, until Ianto had to cover his ears. His heart beat painfully in his chest, and fear kept his feet from moving. The old man in the tree moved towards him, and Ianto recognised the rope for what it was – a noose. He swallowed, and looked around wildly for escape, but more of the creatures were at his back, silent now, all eyes upon him. He could feel the sweat running down his back, he shivered, and felt bile rising in his throat. He tried to speak, but only a croak came out and the cackling grew again. The old man was nose to nose with him sniffing, Ianto also smelt him, creature of earth, mould, and decay, the man held Ianto's gaze, holding up the noose threateningly. Suddenly the man turned to a figure on the opposite side of the clearing, twilight was beginning to fall, but Ianto recognised the clothes.

As suddenly as the creatures appeared, they were gone, the sweet smell of decay and a few fluttering autumn leaves all that remained. Ianto took a deep breath of unutterable relief, smearing a hand over his face, rubbing away tears. He looked up at the dying oak tree, through the gathering dusk and spitting rain. He lost all his breath once more and stumbled forward. The figure swung in the breeze, the knot of the noose pushed against one side of its neck pushing the head to one side, and he knows it is him, from the clothes and the build. He turns and runs up hill as fast as he can, followed by rustling in the trees beside him and the faint sound of cackling laughter.

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Aviv B wanted more teenage Ianto - not sure this was what she meant, but I think she may have started something... Reviews = Love!


	3. Flying

Flying

Breathless and panting Ianto came to a halt at the edge of the warehouse roof, toes poking over, arms windmilling to keep his balance, he turned his head to laugh at the copper running towards him, and launched himself out into the void; he heard the copper scream and felt fingers brush the back of his hoodie, grinning he opened his arms as though flying and fell forwards, righting himself a split second before landing fleet footed on the flat roof metres below and away from his launch point.

As he ran diagonally across the roof and down into the car park he heard the copper curse. He would have to turn back and go down the fire escape, the time allowing Ianto to race across to the wire boundary fence, he practically ran up it and one handed pushed himself up and over the top commando style.

On the other side was the maze of streets that made up his estate, and he was soon able to drop to a walk. Smirking to himself he pulled the stolen CD from under his hoodie, and threw it in the bushes.

He wasn't interested in Glen Miller, but nicking it from under the eyes of the bloke in the weird coat had been great. He hadn't counted on the man's reflexes though, he had nearly been caught. Ianto wasn't sure what had stopped him. He had been about to grab Ianto's wrist, when they caught each others eye. The man suddenly grinned, pulling his hand back and Ianto was away from the market stall before you could say Plaid Cymru. Someone had seen him though, and he was soon being chased by Newport's best. Fortunately their best was good enough to provide Ianto with a good workout, but not so good they could catch him. He laughed again, feeling the buzz coursing through his veins, flying high with his Reeboks firmly on the ground.

He found himself looking down on the Allt- yr- yn nature reserve. He caught his breath abruptly. He had run away that day, but the next had gone looking for the place he had seen the hanging, but he hadn't been able to find it. Everyone thought Gazzer had run away to London, and the thought of what he knew burned in Ianto's stomach. He leant over the railing of the scenic lookout and stared down on the woodland. Movement caught his eye. A large black 4 by 4 was parked in an open space on the edge of the woods. The movement was a man sitting half in half out of the open door, talking on a mobile phone; he appeared to be looking up, straight at Ianto. Ianto recognised the coat and hurriedly pushed back from the railing, as he did so the man looked down and away, pointing into the woods, another man exited the car and disappeared under the trees. Ianto watched a moment, and then walked nonchalantly away, feet getting faster and faster, and he ran, from what he wasn't quite sure.

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For those who have put me on author or story alert, and even more for those who review and stay to chat. Bless you!


	4. Redemption

This is for all the Noel's and Mikes, who do such an amazing job on youth offending schemes up and down the country. Tough love!

Redemption.

"OK, so Ianto, you are the judge in this case, after hearing all the evidence, what is your verdict?"

Ianto yawned, and shifted in his seat, god this was boring. "Guilty"

"Hey no fucking fair! Whose side are you on?" Aimee kicked his knee with her trainer; Ianto smirked back and gave her the finger. "Can't do the time, don't do the crime Aimeeeeee." He quoted.

"Aimee! Ianto! Come on settle down, you only have one more session to do and you're home free, don't ruin it now. Get past this course and you get two afternoons a week at the motor project."

Ianto half nodded his head; he knew the woman was right. He was lucky to have got off with this community project. His reparation was complete and if he aced the offender rehab sessions he had a place on the motor project, and he heard someone had donated a souped up 4 by 4 for them to work on. "Yes Miss," he muttered

She smiled at him. "How many times do I have to tell you it's not Miss, you can call me Pat."

Ianto couldn't do that – she had a quiet authority and was obviously well educated, though he knew from what she had said that she had grown up on a similar estate to his own. She also took a genuine interest in them all, and despite himself he found he agreed with her morality tales, acted out in the classroom. At least she didn't lecture them. His grades had improved at school, though he found he didn't have any respect for the teachers there, it was just that since the events in Allt-Yr-Yn he tried to keep away from trouble. Also his Dad took the strap to him when was arrested.

Ianto now had a game plan. Once he was sentenced to community rehabilitation he realised he could get some skills under his belt, maybe a couple of GCSE's and then he was off to the smoke, fuck the lot of them. Aimee was thinking of coming too. She was a tough nut on the outside – wore the prison rosary to prove it too, but underneath she was vulnerable and sweet. Naïve too about some things. She had been going with most of the boys on the estate before prison, she said it was only Ianto who had worn a condom, and it was Pat who had helped her to a family planning clinic and onto the pill, taught her about safe sex. It would be good to start over, get Aimee away from here. He thought they would be good together.

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

Ianto considered his options, and felt that the top of the B&Q warehouse was the best place to get a bit of perspective. He hung his legs over the side and lit his final fag of the day. He had cut right back, carefully hoarding the money he saved, but every now and then he gave in to the need. This one had been blagged off one of the younger kids at the motor project.

Noel and Mike had seen his potential right from the beginning and had pushed him until he could strip and rebuild the little hatchback cars in his sleep. Got him mentoring some of the younger kids too. They were at risk of offending, and the project was designed to keep them off the streets. Ianto did mentor them, but also told them how to run away from the rozzers. Noel had overheard him one day, and next Saturday found Ianto at the athletics track, running his butt off for a smarmy middle class English bloke. Ianto lasted three sessions before telling the wanker where to get off. He kept the running shoes though.

Now he was planning his next move. A mate of Johnny, his sister's bloke knew a man in London who wanted a mechanic. Ianto wasn't naïve enough to think the business was legit, but it gave him a chance to get away, and he could look for another job once he got there. But how to get there?

He had helped in rebuilding the 4 by 4. That had been in quite an accident, and although they were allowed to work on it, it would be sent back to the government for disposal when they finished. Ianto found himself wondering about the equipment that must have been stripped from it inside and out. There were definitely bullet holes in one of the body panels, and unidentifiable goo in some of the more hidden nooks.

In his imagination it was a secret service motor, but what the fuck would a secret service machine be doing in Newport? It was an unanswerable question. Still he reckoned he could get to London in it easy, just the cost of the petrol. Otherwise he would have to hitch hike, and frankly after being hit on by that English poofter, he was a bit reluctant to put himself at risk.

Ianto spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. Some chap in an overall was running across the car park. Bloody ugly bloke. Ianto new it was time to leave before he was spotted. He stood up, turned and ran as lightly as possible across the roof, trying to keep to what he hoped were the strong spots. He swung himself over the side and down the maintenance ladder, and then ran across the back of the warehouse, up, over the fence and into the estate.

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I cannot reiterate enough how much I love reviews. yes, I am begging, 'cos they do make my day.


	5. Result!

Result

Ianto forced himself to wake up. Pulling the duvet down, the cool of the room made him shiver slightly. It was enough to wake him up properly, and he smiled deep inside. Today was the day.

He hopped across to the window, pulling on fresh boxers, and pulled the blind up, an unusual sunshine poured into the room. He took it as an augury for his GCSEs; spent the minimum time possible in the bathroom and ran downstairs. The post had arrived and he snagged the envelope. Yes! Six passes! He was so on his way.

His Dad was still out, and his Mum was at work, so only Rhiannon to get past.

Back in his room he finished packing his rucksack, tightened his money belt and pulled on his trainers. He snuck back down the stairs.

"Ianto? What yer doin'"

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Nothing, just going out birdwatching at the Nature reserve."  
"Yer know Dad will take the strap to you if he finds out – after that body they found. Anyway it's a weird place to go – you're weird too little bro."

"Thanks for that. I'll see you. Don't tell on me!"

"Nah! Johnny 'n me 're going shopping anyway and staying the night at his Mum's."

"K. Well see ya sis." Unusually he gave his sister a peck on the cheek.

"Get on with yer, daft sod!" she smacked him on the arm and grinned as he left.

He found the motor project was deserted. He used an old debit card to open the Yale lock and opened the doors wide. He had managed to set up the ignition for the Ranger Rover last time he was in, and now he started it easily and drove it onto the road, before nipping out and closing the door to the garage again.

Aimee was waiting for him on the industrial estate, and soon they were heading out to Caerleon and the Severn Crossing.

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

Bridget noted the blip and identified it; tapping her ear com she contacted Alex.

Alex sighed in frustration. Jack was uncontactable. He changed his plan, and called in the Bristol police.

Ianto spotted the police car just as it switched on its lights; they had made it as far as Cribbs Causeway. He turned off for the shopping mall, in the hope of getting lost in the massive car park. Unfortunately his luck had run out, and they pulled him over just before the entrance to the multi story.

Ten minutes later Aimee was in the back of the police car and Ianto was being searched a little too enthusiastically for his liking.

Quite suddenly the SUV moved, apparently with no one driving it. The police officer spun round and Ianto took advantage of his stupefaction to take to his heels, heading into the multi storey, not the Mall – too many CCTV cameras. If he headed down, there was likely to be a maze of basements and maintenance tunnels and places to hide. He had a momentary glimpse of Aimee, mouth open as he ran past. He sent a mental apology, but there was no way he was going back.

Jack watched from the top of the multi storey, leaning his hands on the top of the metal barrier. He smiled a grim smile of satisfaction. He admired the kid's quick reflexes and survival skills. Now with luck he would be able to disappear like so many young people. He did not know why T one was so interested in this boy, but he had made sure he would not be found anytime soon.

He pushed himself upright, opened his wrist strap and bought the SUV to a halt. There was a screeching of brakes and a loud bang. Jack shut his eyes in sympathy, then laughed as he walked briskly over to his nondescript Polo.


	6. Underground

Underground

Ianto stared at the underground map, trying to relate it to what he knew of London's geography. He needed to get to Burnt Oak. He was dog tired. He had managed to hitch hike up from Bristol, one truck as far as Reading, then joining a group of Romanian plumbers in their white van, finding camaraderie when they realised he was moving countries. They allowed him to stay over night with them in Slough. He thought he had it tough on the estate in Newport, but these guys slept eight to a room – and that room was a wooden shed in the garden of a rooming house. They shared the loo with the people in the house – the people there taking it in turns in the beds as the shifts changed at Heathrow. The plumbers dropped him at Uxbridge underground, on their way to Aylesbury for another job.

Blip

Ianto was thrilled when he realised Burnt Oak was actually a stop on the Northern line. He bought his ticket and plunged into the overheated, crowded sardine tins that made up the tube during rush hour.

Blip

Finally he emerged from Burnt Oak tube station. He had sat as far as Baker Street, and then been forced to stand as he changed lines trying to get to the Northern Line. Then had stood as far as Colindale, and then sat again only to get up and off the train at the next stop. He had not realised how rude people could be without actually saying anything, and had lost count of the amount of times he had said sorry. Sorry for rocking into people, sorry for being near the doors, sorry for looking down and spotting your cleavage, and oh, he really wanted to apologise to the whole carriage when he used the hanging strap and smelt his own armpit. If that was bad, how was his breath…?

Blip

Ianto turned his face to the sun, and relished the breath of wind on his cheeks. He looked around for a newsagents, to buy a map and ask how to get to Smith's Motor Repairs.

Blip

'A modern apprenticeship? You're offering a modern apprenticeship? To me?' Ianto could not quite believe this. Smith's Motor Repair was a Classic and Vintage car garage. It was, to Ianto's amazement completely legitimate, and they were prepared to offer him a Modern Apprenticeship in Motor engineering.

"Well? Do you want it?" Ted Smith was feeling a bit sorry for having said he would do this. Jones was unkempt to say the least, skinny and looked about as intelligent as that moggy his wife had taken in.

"Oh God, I mean yes, yes, thank you."

Ted just nodded, and then made him a cup of tea, because the boy looked like he really needed it.

* * *

Poor Ianto - if he knew his London he could have got the Jubilee line from Baker Street to Queensbury and walked to Burnt Oak in about half an hour. (Sooner to Smith's ' cos in my head its actually in Mollison Way near the old De Havilland factory.)


	7. London

For those who are hoping for a bit more action - next chapter I promise! For those who don't know Camden, google it to see some of the stores and clubs Ianto might go to.

**London**

Bridget tapped her comm.. "Signal has stabilised sir. Passing monitoring over to central."

Ianto was running. In the flow, lungs and muscles in perfect synch. He flew over the pavements, up over the brick wall, landing neatly in the playground of the local primary school. The moon peeped fitfully from behind the clouds illuminating the climbing frame. He ran up and over it, sprinting from one bar to the other and running down the slide the other side, then running underneath and throwing himself up and using his arms, swinging from one to the other back to where he started.

The buzz from being chased was gone, but he could no more have stopped running than breathing.

Ianto tugged a little fretfully at the hem of his suit jacket. He felt nervous in this environment. Smith's was entertaining its clientele and Ted had insisted on the suit. Ianto was not sure why, as most of the clients were dressed in a mixture of smart to downright shabby casual, and despite the fact they all drove they were downing beer and champagne like it was going out of fashion. He half recognised some quite revered musicians (was that Pink Floyd's drummer?) but the rest were slightly eccentric ex army and RAF types, all a bit barmy about vintage cars.

Ianto had put his excellent memory to use and felt he knew a fair bit about the cars he worked on but the talk around him was beyond him. He did understand their enthusiasm for racing though –they obviously got the same kick out of it as he did running.

He swallowed nervously as one of the RAF types approached him. The man was looking him up and down as though he was meat. The man stuck out a hand and Ianto shook it, trying to channel Pat rather than Aimee in the way he responded.  
"Peter Piper, how do you do?" The man was a squeezer, and Ianto had a momentary impression of being caught in a vice, still two could play at that game and he squeezed back. He saw Peter's eyes open slightly wider, and then he smiled slightly. Peter then began what Ianto would later call the interrogation. It ranged over all the work that he did at Smith's and more. Ianto tried to turn away the more personal questions, but he had never come across this kind of conversation before and was unsure of a polite way to do it. He was relieved when Ted came over and asked him to make some coffee for the guests. As he walked away he was surprised to hear Ted tell Peter to leave him alone. "The boy is mine for another six months."

Camden was a revelation. Once he got past the tourist markets and shops all touting tat and found the small shops and stalls selling individually crafted clothes and accessories, he discovered a passion for style and clothes he never knew he had. He also discovered the clubs where he could wear his choice of clothes and be himself or often enough, someone else entirely. Here his ability for deception, for 'passing' was honed. The fact that he could easily turn down the drugs, (been there done that) and still enjoy himself meant that he could party all weekend, and still be fit for work on Monday.

* * *

Oh - Pink Floyd's drummer did have a vintage car.


	8. Moving On

Sorry about the delay. First the plot bunnies went Christmas shopping, then my daughter pinched my laptop whilst she waited for a repair to her own.

And a big shout out to the Isle of Man, hello! I don't believe I've had readers from there before. Do you have snow like us?

**

* * *

Moving on.**

Outside a summer storm was brewing, intense heat building humidity, the wind gusting, blowing litter along the gutter, sending static hair flying and curls into candy floss. Girls laughed in the queue as they unstuck stray fronds from their lippy, and the boys grinned as they followed the progress of manicured nails across the rosebud pouts.

Inside the club, humidity must have been reaching 100% and the press of bodies meant the heat was increasing exponentially. Ianto felt his heart thump in time to the beat, hips swaying, moving with Mandy's as she pressed back against him. Her curls bobbed just below his chin, and the musk of her perfume intensified, filling his mind until thought ran away, and he was all sensation; music, beat, body and heat.

The music was augmented as the storm broke outside, and lights flashed momentarily, a few girls screamed, but Mandy and Ianto never missed a beat. He snaked his arms around her and held her close, eyes closed.

Two hours later they left the club, the rain fell in sheets, bouncing from the pavement. Ianto held his jacket over Mandy's head, and looked around for a taxi, his T shirt, already soaked with sweat was now drenched with rain, and water ran down his face. As usual when you needed a taxi, there were none to be found, just an SUV that pulled past spraying water up on to the pavement, Ianto and Mandy jumped back, cursing. They walked on through the rain, heading towards the more populated Charing Cross road. Mandy had a mansion flat just off Gloucester road, near the Natural History museum, and Ianto was invited. They ducked down one of the numerous narrow side streets, looking ahead to the traffic passing across the end, going as fast as Mandy's heels would allow. The rain had let up a little, and Mandy now wore Ianto's jacket. Suddenly a man ran past them, lifting Mandy as he went, throwing her over his shoulder, all before Ianto could blink. Not thinking, Ianto gave chase, sprinting from standing and nearly gaining on them within a few feet of the Charing Cross road, surely someone would notice a woman being carried off?

Suddenly the man dived to his right, and Ianto had to do a sharp turn, almost running back on his own footsteps, and followed them into the narrow gap between the buildings. His shoulders almost scraped the brickwork, and he heard Mandy yelp as she bounced off the walls. The man had to slow a little, but so did Ianto, and the distance between them might as well have been a mile. The gap opened into a light well, with a fire escape leading up one side. The man ran up it almost without pausing and Ianto was close behind, taking the steps two at a time.

They came to a landing, there was no where else to go. The man swung Mandy round in front of him, and laughed, holding a pistol to her head. It was the first time Ianto had seen him, and he thought the fish head mask was a trifle overdone. Surely a balaclava would have done the trick as well? As he thought he was taking in all the details of the platform, the wall it leant against, the rail surrounding it. Lightning fast he pushed his foot down hard on a piece of loose metal flooring, it tippled the fish man a little, and he had to move his gun hand to the rail to steady himself. Ianto followed through with a blow to his chin that caused his head to snap back, he was unable to keep his balance and fell back against the rail, losing his grip on Mandy. Ianto pulled her clear and helped the fish man on his way with a shove to the shoulder. He held Mandy to his chest and looked over the rail in time to see a man and a woman leap out of the way of the falling body. It smacked into the ground and as Ianto flinched the man and the woman looked straight at him. They were both armed. Ianto wondered what the hell was going on.

Mandy pushed back from Ianto, and laughed. He looked at her in confusion. She brushed some brick dust from her shoulders and looked Ianto in the eye.

"Well done! We thought you had what it takes, although pushing the guy off the platform was maybe a little over the top."

"What the fuck is going on?"

"Welcome to Torchwood Ianto Jones."


	9. I Think Not

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and that you all have a wonderful new year.

* * *

**I Think Not….**

"So there you have it Ianto, and now you will be trained as field agent, assisting the British government in the apprehension of aliens and alien technology. Thus protecting the earth from invasion, and equipping mankind for his future amongst the stars."

"No"

Peter Piper looked agog. "I beg pardon old chap?"

"I said no. You may have supposedly genetically engineered me to be some kind of super soldier, but that doesn't give you the right to tell me how to live my life."

"But we have looked after you your whole life, placed you with a lovely, charming family, made sure you were educated, had room to grow, we even let you choose your area of study. You must understand, you owe us your existence young man."

Ianto felt the wave of anger flow outwards from his gut; before he knew it he had Piper by the throat, up against the wall.

"I owe you nothing. Where were you when my Dad beat me with the strap? When he was laying into my Mam? My sister? Charming family, my arse, he's a fucking psycho drunk, you bastard." Ianto's voice had grown louder as he spoke, his hand around Piper's throat tightening. Piper scrabbled at the fingers bruising his windpipe, with his free hand Ianto ripped half of his handlebar moustache from his face, and then let Piper go. He fell to the ground gasping, tears running down his face, and Ianto sank into his seat, holding his head in his hands. "No. I will not become a soldier. He was a soldier," He lifted his head and looked Piper in the eye, "It destroyed him. I won't fucking do it, especially not for a prick like you."

Ianto knew that they would try to persuade him, but they hadn't taken into account that along with his enhanced cognitive and physical abilities, he was above all, Welsh, and they were not.

After a month of trying they gave up. He did agree to work for them, as a researcher, and he attended an accelerated English and librarian degree alongside in depth IT training. He didn't tell them he had understood the Dewey system from the age of eight and already had all his Microsoft exams. He also understood that knowledge is power, and it was important not to give that power away. He found it somewhat amusing that a secret government organisation was so dependent on systems the whole world used, and therefore well known to every hacker out there.

Ianto found the archives strangely peaceful in their formal adherence to civil service hierarchy. Suits were the order of the day, and because of the danger of spillage, everyone stopped for elevenses, gathering in the little staffroom to chat and drink weak tea and nibble on a rich tea biscuit. Lunch was taken on a rota basis and at 3pm precisely, the team gathered again for instant coffee and Kitkats. At 5pm the main staff left, leaving a token librarian to cover any requests until midnight, when the archives officially closed. Ianto would not be allowed to cover the evening shift until he had passed his probationary period.

The staff consisted of a chief archivist, a tall cadaverous man and several very middle class ladies of a certain age. Ianto had been mildly startled to discover that Ian, the chief was gay and in a long term relationship. The ladies were a mixture of married and spinster. Ianto found it was the married ones he had to look out for; he had a couple of small bruises on his bum to prove it. The spinsters seemed wary of him, but they all would come looking for him when an artefact or document needed retrieving from the higher shelves. He had no hesitation in climbing the twenty foot ladders that slid across the front of the shelves, or even crossing from one to another without climbing down. In fact if there was no one around, he would take an inordinate joy in leaping from one ladder to another as they moved towards each other.

Ianto was good at playing the bright but innocent young man and soon found himself accepted by the team. As the youngest and lowliest team member he was expected (thank god) to make the tea and coffee, and by the third week he had them on to English Breakfast tea and real coffee. It did wonders for morale. Ianto was pondering his plan to get Hobnobs instead of Rich Tea as he wandered along the corridors to the canteen and a soggy tuna sandwich. He automatically held the door open for the person coming through. He glanced up as she said thank you. He felt his mouth drop open, all thoughts of Hobnobs fleeing, as his mouth went dry and he blinked. The most gorgeous woman passed by him, he caught a breath of her scent, and watched her dark curls bounce on the nape of her neck.

* * *

Is the woman Lisa? Will Ianto be as resourceful in his pursuit of her or will it be an epic fail? Tune in next time to find out...


	10. Pick Up

**Lisa**

By 3 pm Ianto's superior research skills had come up trumps. Linda had spilled the beans for an extra kitkat and a tot of Baileys Irish cream in her coffee. Ianto sincerely hoped she was not intending to climb any ladders in the library.

"Her name is Lisa and she works on the 5th floor. Not sure what she does, but definitely single, polite, if a little dismissive of people older than her. Not that that's uncommon these days, present company excepted of course." Linda twinkled up at him. Standing, she barely reached his chest, and her round form more than comfortably filled her plaid skirt and polyester cream blouse. She and Ianto got on like a house on fire, and she was thrilled to think there might be a romance in the offing. Her mind wandered to the Mills and Boon romance secreted in her desk drawer….if it was a quiet afternoon she might finish it off before she went home. The hero was seriously good looking, blue eyes, tall, and a captain in the RAF. The front cover showed him kissing the heroine against a background of thunder and lightning, his great coat sweeping forwards around them. She would very much like to be that heroine….

She realised Ianto was asking her a question; he had to repeat it and teased her about her drinking habits. Linda glanced warningly over at Brenda but she was absorbed in The Times Literary Supplement.

The next day Ianto volunteered to do the artefact pick up on floor five. He walked up to the glass doors and paused, straightening his tie, butterflies seemed to have taken up residence in his stomach, but he pushed open the door and resolutely walked in. The office was vast, open plan with partitions dividing the cubicles. Phones rang constantly and there was a low buzz of conversation and the tap of keyboards. Ianto walked down the alley between the rows, looking for the person who had the artefact and of course Lisa. He spotted the curls first, bronze highlights in the dark african hair sparkled in the fluorescent lights. She looked up as he approached and Ianto felt his mouth go dry and his practised words flee from his mind. Lisa smiled at him, waiting for him to speak. She raised an eyebrow at him "Yes? Something I can help you with?"

Ianto managed a nod, "Uhm, that is, I mean can you tell me where I can find Professor Michaels? I need to collect an artefact for the archives."

"Of course, I'll show you. He has an office to himself at the back." Ianto noticed that Lisa's voice was low and melodious; she rose gracefully, almost but not quite as tall as he was. Ianto swallowed. Lisa grinned and gave him a little push, "You'll need to move or I can't help you"

Over the next week and a half Ianto managed to visit floor five everyday, always finding an excuse to speak to Lisa. On the Wednesday he was disappointed to find that she was not at her desk. He looked around the room for her, and then jumped out of his skin when someone poked him gently in the ribs. He turned quickly; Lisa laughed at him, scooted past and sat down in her chair. "Well here you are again," she said "what can I do for you today Ianto Jones?"

"Come out with me?" Ianto blurted out, he felt himself go red as he waited for her answer. She began to nod, almost before she spoke, coolly but with a smile. "Sure, why not. How about you pick me up after work today. We can go for a drink." She paused "You are old enough to go for a drink aren't you?"

"Do I really look that young?"

It was Lisa's turn to blush "Well yes, you do actually."

"I can assure you I am old enough to drink and drive." Ianto realised what he had said, "Not that I do drink and drive, just that I am old enough to do both," he corrected. Lisa laughed and waved him away, "I believe you! Just pick me up at the main entrance at 5!"

Ianto almost chickened out, it had to be the most embarrassing pick up ever, but then he thought about those curls and that voice. 5pm had never seemed so far away.

* * *

Review? Please?


	11. Lunch

Ok, so not very happy with this, but it moves us on a little...

**Lunch**

Ianto looked up as Lisa joined him at the lunch table. He swallowed his mouthful before smiling and greeting her.

"How's your day going?" He asked

Lisa huffed, "Bit pants actually, some blokes from Cardiff are here and Hartman has got us all working to rule, they've gone overboard on confidentiality and secrecy. Liz got her wrist slapped for not locking down her computer when she went for a pee! She was only gone 5 minutes!"

Ianto nodded in sympathy "Yeah, we've had to recall all artefacts and audit all our records against actual objects going back six months. Fortunately Ian's got a good system going, we're only out by 3%, well within limits."

"Well providing what's missing is safe!"

Ianto grinned, "Just some paper records and a screwdriver with a sonic mechanism. I mean, why would you bother making a screwdriver sonic?"

"No idea. Are you going to eat that tomato or just look at it?"

"Neither – you have it; I only like tomato when it's on a pizza."

"I'll make you like veggies if it's the last thing I do" Lisa tapped him on the knuckle, Ianto smiled and caught her hand,

"Yes Mum, so how's the work on the ghost shifts going?"

"Hush! I'm not allowed to talk about it!"

Ianto looked around the canteen, it was full of people chattering and banging crockery, the noise echoing round the tall ceilings. "No one could overhear us in here, we're safer than if we were on a park bench in the middle of a park."

"I know, the whole thing is so interesting, I'm busting to tell you about it, but today of all days, I just can't." Lisa leant forward and pecked him on the lips.

"So is this seat taken?" A woman's voice interrupted arrogantly. Ianto looked up, a snarky retort on his lips, but Lisa broke across him.

"No that's fine, we were just going, come on Ianto you can make me a coffee." She pulled him gently by the hand, and he followed reluctantly.

"That's one of them! I saw her being shown round as I was coming down in the lift!"

Ianto looked back as he walked out of the canteen door. He saw a tall man in a grey coat sit down with the woman. He frowned; something about that coat was familiar. He knew he would be able to place it in a while.

Jack raised an eyebrow at Suzie, she handed him her PDA, there was a photo of Ianto as he looked up at her. The facial recognition programme finished and Jack nodded as it confirmed his suspicions. Why was Torchwood 1 so interested in a kid from Newport that they tracked him down and recruited him, and had one of their top undercover agents babysitting him?

* * *

Stay with me for angst, kick ass Ianto and something that may take longer than five minutes to read. I may be gone a while...


	12. Fate?

So this is where we start to bump into canon, warning- longer and darker folks!

* * *

**Fate?  
**

The day had started happily with breakfast at Lisa's flat, still early enough in their relationship to be exciting, for Lisa to make Ianto French toast and Ianto to make coffee with many pauses for kisses. The previous night Lisa had asked Ianto to move in and they had celebrated with Cava and an early bedtime. Ianto was still not sure which way was up, and had been giddy with happiness, bursting to tell someone. In lieu of his mother Linda had listened to him with unconcealed glee and toasted him and Lisa with coffee and Hobnobs. Ianto had recklessly invited her to dinner and then spent the next twenty minutes wondering how to tell Lisa and worrying about what she would think.

Now, his world threatened to come crashing down around his ears and he was calmly walking up stairs, senses on full alert, observing every movement and listening to every creak of the building.

Ianto had managed to save himself and Ian and Brenda. Linda had not been in the archives when the attack started. Ianto's innate survival instinct had driven him to memorise all the emergency exits, fire extinguishers etc on every floor. He had planned six different ways to exit the archives safely, involving various different scenarios from fire and gas leaks to armed incursion or earthquake. He had not envisaged both Cybermen and Daleks at once, but that had been an advantage as they turned on each other, enabling him to get Ian and Brenda through the small windows he had discovered at the top of the bookcases in library 'C'. They were at ground level and led out onto the shopping plaza, they should be able to get easily to the river or the Docklands light railway from there.

Now he had to find the two most special women in his life.

He knew Linda had gone to the first floor, and Lisa was working out of the twentieth, he took the lower floor first. It was devoid of people, cold where the windows had blown out, paper blowing along the corridors, the smell of the river permeating the air, dispelling the stale smell of the reconditioned air the building usually had.

He decided to take the twentieth next, and returned to the staircase. He made himself walk up at his usual training pace – he could go from the bottom to the top of Canary Wharf faster than anyone else in the building, and if he put his mind to it he could do it at a run, but he needed to conserve his physical resources, and work at a pace that enabled him to observe the environment carefully.

He looked through the glass in the fire door before pushing through. There was no one walking around, and no sign of Cybermen or Daleks. The silence was eerie, for some reason more windows were intact up here, and the air was heavy with smoke and the scent of human fear. Ianto recognised the smell of faeces, urine and vomit, along with a more metallic tang he was unsure of. He turned and grabbed a smoke hood from the fire station near the lifts. He found it much easier to breath. He walked steadily toward the main office area, through the doors and came to a sudden halt. He barely managed to get the hood off before he vomited over his shoes. Body parts were flung hither and yon, blood soaking into the office carpet, a part of Ianto's brain registered the difficulty there would be getting that out! He laughed weakly, blinking away tears. He put the hood back on – it served to distance him slightly, as well as filtering the worst of the smell. He stood for a moment listening, at first all he could hear was his breathing, but then he heard a very slight moaning. He followed the sound to two conversion machines. In the first there was a woman. Linda lay trapped in the metal, partially converted, still breathing; a trail of saliva dripped from her mouth and her plaid skirt was drenched with urine. She followed Ianto with her eyes, and attempted to speak, he dropped to his knees, pulling the mask from his head. He stroked her face and wiped her chin. Whispering comforts to her. Linda tried to speak, Ianto realised what she was saying.

"Lisa, she was last! May still be alive, find Lisa. Leave me darling, find Lisa. Too late for me."

Ianto did not know what to do. His instinct was to find Lisa, but Linda was in front of him.

He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to decide.

"Go for her Ianto, you deserve your life with her, you may be able to help her."

Ianto bent down and kissed Linda, "I will come back for you."

He stood and looked across the rows of machines. Lisa was not in the one next to Linda, it was mercifully empty. He started the grim task of searching for her, face after face, body after body, eyes staring, faces known and unknown. Finally he found her. At first he thought she was dead, but then he noticed her stomach rising and falling gently. She opened her eyes as he approached and smiled. "Ianto, I knew you would come."

Jack was not to solve the mystery of Ianto Jones. All he could hope as he manoeuvred through the traffic on the M4 was that the young man was still alive. Suzie was riding shot gun, and maintaining contact with ground Zero. She was giving a running commentary on both the progress of the emergency services and updating him on traffic through London. The military was currently enforcing a curfew, so the roads were clearing, but there were a lot of abandoned vehicles and they had already negotiated several shunts and one major accident.

Owen was continually checking and rechecking his medical kits and scanners, in the hope that they would find survivors. Tosh was back in Cardiff, working on securing the T1 databases and mainframe records. She had been relieved to find that the archive database was on separate servers away from the main tower, and was also apparently shut down behind firewalls even she was having difficulty accessing. It appeared safe for the time being, so she moved on to the personnel base, which was the exact opposite. Still she had an up to date record of all the personnel currently employed at the site – or not. The system had not been updated in 3 months. She was now trying to find the records of the swipe badges for the building, to know who was in the building that day. There was an error message dated a week before, which meant that the swipe record system was inaccessible. She informed Suzie that she would be working further on the problem, but that they should look at reception to see if employees had been required to sign in.

Suzie passed the information to Jack, who grunted and Owen who swore.

Ianto allowed himself thirty seconds for shock, and thirty seconds to greet Lisa stroking her face and kissing her gently. He then spent ten minutes comparing the technology of the conversion unit to what he had learnt from information in the archive. Lisa was able to tell him how the conversion had gone ahead, that she could survive for up to ten minutes outside of the unit, before needing life support again. She told him, when he questioned her that she was entirely in control of her own mind. He was later to realise that this was a lie, one amongst the many their relationship had been built on.

He concentrated on detaching Lisa from the machine; he transferred her to the evac chair stationed at the top of the emergency stairs, and took her down to the library storage room. He was pretty convinced it would not be the first place they would look for survivors. He then ran back up to twenty, and working as quickly as possible dismantled the unit, taking a risk he sent it down in the lift, but took the stairs at the opposite side of the building. He had it in the storage area with two minutes to spare, but he was able to link up the life support immediately, Lisa was now unconscious, but breathing, he lifted her into the unit and sensing her it automatically wrapped around her body and stabilised her vital processes.

Ianto took a moment to catch his breath before heading back up to twenty for Linda. There were people beginning to enter the building now, and he had to be fast. He was getting to the end of his cardiac stamina, and was going at a slightly slower pace. He would not let himself relax his vigilance however, and made a sweep of the floor for threats before he went to save Linda

Which was why he saw Captain Jack Harkness before he saw him.

* * *

Yes. Reviews are adored and cherished, well fed and kept forever.


	13. Observed

Back to a shortish chapter, but I wanted to get something up as its been a while.

**Observed**

Linda floated on a world of pain. Her consciousness fighting to be, to stay Linda. If she concentrated she could lose herself in the fantasy, and the pain would disappear for a while, to be pushed back by the voice that was telling her that love was a pointless emotion, but Linda new differently.

She knew the importance of love, look at young Ianto all lit up from within, giddy and astoundingly happy with his beautiful Lisa. Think about the romances that she read, if love was not important, why would people read them. She attempted to lose herself in remembering the story of the brave RAF wing commander and the young girl from the WAAF, the pain and the voice diminishing as she lost herself in the tale.

She could see him now, in his Hero coat, swishing up to her, stoking her hair, smiling and talking about his latest mission. She could even smell him, a soothing blend of spice and citrus, "Seth? Is it really you?"

He gently stoked her hair. "No Ma'am, my name is Jack, how are you doing?"

Linda swam back into the present, looking straight into a pair of sad blue eyes. "Pain, oh God, it hurts so much." Linda took a shuddering breath, "And I'm not sure I'm winning."

"Winning?" Jack asked, he held her hand gently.

"The voice in my mind. I'm losing the battle"

"Help will be here soon, what's your name?"

"Linda point 2, no, I mean Linda, just – Linda."

"OK Linda, hang in there. We'll help you."

"No. Jack. Losing! No time! Enact protocols for alien take over."

"We can help you!"

"You will be upgraded. Human.2"

Jack held Linda's hand and kissed her lips as he slid the knife between her ribs up into her heart. He whispered into her hair as he closed her eyes. "Goodbye, brave Linda."

TWTWTW

Ianto watched through the glass of the fire doors. He could not hear what was being said but he saw the knife as it ended his friend's life. He saw the distraction of the kiss for what it was; there would be no help here.

He turned and made his way carefully back down the stairs.

TWTWTW

Jack caught movement out of the corner of his eye as he raised his head from Linda's hair. He had the sensation of being watched whilst he spoke with Linda. Now he followed up on that sensation, and walked swiftly and silently to the fire doors. He looked through them, the landing beyond empty. He pushed gently through onto the landing and stood listening. He heard the very faintest brush of clothing against the wall, and the slight thump of a foot placed just a little too firmly.

Unlikely to be either Cyberman or Dalek, but could be a looter. He called it in and returned to the conversion units, looking for survivors.


	14. Waiting

Sorry! Had a major attack of rl over the last week, then the plot bunnies succumbed to the lack of sunshine here in blighty. Still it's here now!

**Waiting**

Ianto sat with Lisa in the archive store room. It was too dangerous to move her; the building was crawling with UNIT soldiers and Harkness' pet staff.

He had worked to stabilise Lisa in the conversion unit he had scavenged before the soldiers arrived, he had to hope that they would pass by the storeroom in favour of the physical artefacts. Now he just had to wait.

He found himself drifting, thirsty and tired. He wondered how his life had come to this. A boy from a council estate in Wales, hiding his woman from certain death in the city of London. Was it only last night that they agreed to move in together?

Lisa appeared to be sleeping now, pale beneath the coffee coloured skin, hints of red on her cheekbones, her beautiful curls hidden beneath the metal helmet. Last night he had watched her as she artfully arranged her wet hair, ensuring that it would curl in the most attractive way. He found her movements fascinating, graceful and purposeful, and he could spend hours just watching her.

She would catch him looking sometimes and smile at him, shaking her head in bemusement. Then she would hug him, sneak a drink from his coffee and kiss him on the temple. He had wondered what he had done to be so blessed. Well, they were paying for that happiness now.

Lisa's breath was stuttering, her closed eyes flickering under the lids. He hesitated to give her any more sedation, trying a little more oxygen in the ventilator instead. Thankfully it worked and she settled again.

Ianto was losing track of time, dozing on the hard chair, jerking awake as his head fell forward. Constantly checking the readouts on the machine. Not that he really understood what they meant, aiming to keep them at what seemed to be the average. The building gradually grew quiet around them, the voices of the soldiers fading into the distance. There were odd creaks and bangs as the structure settled, rubble falling occasionally and it was growing dank and cold from the sprinkler systems.

Ianto knew he had to make a move soon, or he was going to get too chilled and dehydrated to be of any use. He checked the machine one more time and ventured over to the door. He pulled it open a crack and checked the dark room beyond. All his senses on alert he aimed for the little kitchenette across the way. He was convinced that the building was empty and there was a chance there was still hot water in the little urn they used for making tea. He had stocked the kitchen with biscuits a few days ago. He would eat and drink, then when he felt a little more human (and how ironic was that thought?) he would plan how to get Lisa to safety.

The water was just warm enough to dissolve the coffee, he added several teaspoons and as much sugar as he could bear, figuring he needed the caffeine kick. It tasted foul but should do the job. Two kitkats later, he made his way back to the storage room, pockets full of biscuits and holding a can of coke someone had left. He was convinced they were alone now, he had heard no human movement in the building for at least a couple of hours. He used a foot to push the door closed behind him and spoke. "I feel a bit more the thing now Lisa, we'll soon get you out of here"

"Well now, see, here's the thing Ianto Jones, I'm not sure I can let you do that"

He jumped and dropped the can of coke on his foot; it burst open, the coke spraying over the boots and trousers of Jack Harkness where he sat on Ianto's chair.

TWTWTWTWTW

Jack had returned to the building after the rescue services had left. He had needed to try and make sense of what had happened, to remember and mourn a little the innocents who had died, maybe vent his anger at those who had caused the catastrophe. Jack being Jack he also intended to suss out what technology was left and make plans for securing it and he knew that was best done after UNIT had left.

He found the building eerie in the dark of night, the upper floors lit only by fitful moonlight, the lower by light seeping in from adjacent high rises. He gathered his greatcoat around him against the chill and damp as he stopped on the 20th floor and paid homage to Linda and her colleagues who had died in the conversion units. He then made his way down stairs following the signs to the archive section.

This was where there was least damage, and where most of the technology was stored. Torchwood one may have found it, it may be alien, but soon it would be Cardiff's.

As he was about to push through the fire door at the bottom of the stairs he saw movement in the corridor, a figure passing from one room to another. Intrigued he crept in and checking the figure was occupied he peeped into the storage room. What he saw caused his bowels to contract in terror, he forced himself to breathe and walk closer to the still and silent figure. He was tempted to just switch the unit off, but he had no idea if that would make it wake.

He decided to deal with the human first. He turned the chair around, and sat astride, arms resting on the back, chin on his arms and waited.


	15. Impact

Sorry for the delay - no excuse, just overtired.

**Impact**

Captain Harkness was dead.

Ianto stood over him, between his body and Lis – the monster in front of him. Hot tears ran down his face.

For a reason he could not fathom she was wary of him. She hadn't hesitated to kill the captain when she surged up off the conversion unit, but she was trying to persuade Ianto to join her, and it wasn't because of their relationship.

"We will conquer the world together! Join me!"

Her voice was devoid of emotion, robotic and chilling.

"Your mind and body – so perfect, so unlike other humans. You will assist us."

"NO. I don't know what you mean, but I will never join you."

Suddenly the thing was begging with Lisa's voice for him to join their cause. The manipulative act made him sick, and he charged her as though in a rugby match. He caught her round her waist and knocked her backwards across the conversion unit. He stood quickly and switched it on, the knives descending as she struggled to pull herself back upwards. Her centre of gravity compromised by the heavy armoured boots.

He took the opportunity to open the door, and grabbing the Captain under the arms he dragged him backwards from the room. He stood and turned into the barrels of two guns. He looked up to the faces, one he recognised as the woman who had accompanied Jack to Torchwood one, the other a slightly built man with a slash for a mouth.

He opened his mouth to speak and for a moment it was as though the scream was coming out of his own mouth. The man's eyes looked over his shoulder into the room and he visibly gagged. Ianto took the opportunity to disarm him, and had him on his knees, gun pressed to his skull before the scream finished. Unfortunately Susie's reflexes were almost as quick and she had her gun pressed to the side of Ianto's temple almost before the small man's knees touched the floor.

"If you want to live I suggest you let him go." Susie's voice was amused and relaxed.

"If I don't want to live?"

Ianto saw the gun barrel shift slightly with her shrug. She didn't care one way or the other.

"Point." Ianto held the barrel of the gun vertically and Susie took it from him with her free hand.

"On your knees. Hands behind your head"

Ianto dropped as the skinny man stood. He was knelt by Jacks head and gasped in unison with him as the Captain came back to life. He saw blue eyes filled with pain, they blinked once and the pain was replaced by a flirtatious twinkle, "Well hello gorgeous," a hand stroked briefly down Ianto's cheek and then the Captain was on his feet.

He clapped his hands and lent into the storeroom, letting out a low whistle. "Way to go Ianto Jones!"

The slight man looked around Jack and sighed. "Fucking hell, what a mess"

TWTWTWTWTWTW

Ianto sat in the middle seat at the back of the SUV, hands cuffed uncomfortably behind him, body restrained by a full racing car harness. He could probably have escaped whilst they marched him from the conversion unit to the car, but he had nothing to escape to, his whole life had vanished, and he was unable to think further than putting one foot in front of the other. Now he could just be still, and numb. He leant his head against the seat behind him and to his mild surprise, slept.

He woke as they were crossing the Severn Bridge. The traffic signs now in both Welsh and English.

He turned to face the river, catching glimpses of mudflats and stranded boats and the gleam of water, and then they were running through Newport bringing memories of more innocent if not happier times.

He drifted off again between Newport and Cardiff, not sleeping, just unseeing. He paid no attention as he was walked from the car park and into a tunnel. He was sat down on a bench, his hands were released and he let out a small sigh as the Perspex door closed on the cell.

He had sat back on the bench after taking a pee when the door opened. Harkness carried in a tray with pizza and a plastic mug on it. He handed it to Ianto then stood back.

"Eat, then we'll talk."

Ianto greedily picked up the mug, it was lukewarm and sludge brown but he was thirsty and he took a gulp. He looked up at Jack, then back down at the mug.

"If it's not too much trouble, could I just have water?" he rasped

"Sorry, I thought Torchwood 1 ran on coffee."

"That's not coffee, that's mud from the bottom of a very stagnant pond."

"Hey, we've been out of the hub a few days, and the microwave is playing up!"

Ianto glared, carefully putting the mug back on the tray and investigated the Pizza. He recognised it as a brand specifically for microwaving. He sighed and took a bite, trying not to compare the texture to a rubber tyre.

"Good lad. I'll get you some water in a minute., but first tell me why Torchwood's top honey trap should be so interested in Ianto Jones."

Ianto looked up confused. "What?"

"Lisa Hallet, why was she 'looking' after you? What makes you so special?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

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Reviews are loved, answered and savoured.


	16. Revealing

**Revealing**

"Here, read her personnel file if you don't believe me."

Jack had bought Ianto up to the main hub floor and sat him in front of a computer screen; a shy looking Asian woman leant across and clicked on the appropriate command keys. Ianto suspected that they might be trying to trick him, but he recognised the system and couldn't really think of a reason why they should.

Suddenly there in front of him was Lisa's ID photo. Like all ID photo's it aged her by about ten years but her beauty and familiarity still took his breath away. The picture blurred and tears he couldn't wipe trickled down his cheeks and he felt hysteria creeping up on him. His hands were abruptly untied and the woman handed him a tissue. Somehow that kindness made it all worse and his body was racked with sobs he could not control.

He came back to himself in Jack's arms; he was supporting Ianto on the computer stool and whispering soothing nothings in his ear.

"Get off me!" he pushed Jack away, sniffed and leant forward to type a command into the computer, before he got halfway through the monitor was switched off, effectively cutting off his access.

"No touching the computer! Tosh, do the honours please."

The monitor was switched back on, and the Asian woman finished his command sequence and there were the contents of Lisa's file.

He scanned it, trying to disbelieve it. Lisa was a member of Torchwood's special assignment unit. She had been recruited from university where it was noted she had effectively seduced three of her professors, with a subsequent increase in her grades.

It listed her assignments, and Ianto noted the names of several prominent international military leaders, (and one of their wives) who had been removed from office following various scandals.

Finally it listed her current assignment. She had been moved back into Canary Wharf, sole purpose 'Enable a relationship with Ianto Jones in order to keep him emotionally attached to Torchwood, thus enabling them to monitor him and press forward with plans to persuade him to use his skills and body for the greater good of the British Empire.'

Ianto felt sick, he was trembling, he switched off the monitor as though hiding the record would mean it was not true. He looked from Tosh to Jack, finding sympathy in one and flint in the other. He stared forward again and became very still.

"I suppose your purpose in bringing me here is to 'persuade' me to use my skills for the good of the British Empire. Let me tell you here and now that no matter how much I loved Lisa I would never have become a soldier to please her or any other person. My skills and superior physiology will never be used for that purpose."

Jack looked at him for a heart beat. "What skills and superior physiology?"

"Crap" Ianto looked at him in surprise. "You mean you don't know about me? You didn't bring me here to force me into working for you?"

The Asian woman, Tosh answered him, "No, it was purely because you were apparently attempting to rescue a Cyberman – we could not allow you to just go free."

"Lisa, her name was Lisa!" Ianto was tired, he ached and hated that in that state he had made a rookie mistake. He had been fed some information, treated kindly and like some green kid had let slip information about himself even Lisa did not know. Except of course she had known. She already thought he was upgraded, that was why she had asked him to join the Cybermen. He rubbed his hand over his hair trying to decide what to do now.

Jack leant forward into his face. "What skills Ianto? What is so different about you that Torchwood has followed your progress since you were a kid?"

"If you can access Lisa's file then you can access mine and find out for yourself."

Jack tapped on the keyboard. Ianto's file popped up. "We tried that already. No mention of special skills, and when we try to go deeper we come up against this.

'**Access denied. Level three authorisation is required to proceed, enter codes and follow on screen instructions.'**

"So, you must have level three access, do it."

Tosh spoke, "Oh yes, we have better than that, I can normally override any Torchwood or Unit security protocol."

Jack and Ianto looked at her in awe; "you can?" they spoke in unison, Jack with a level of pride and affection that made Ianto look sharply at him.

"Until today that is. Now all I get is this." Tosh typed rapidly and the access screen dissolved first into static and then into a parody of the Torchwood Logo, made of pink hearts instead of hexagons. Ianto smiled inwardly, hoping it didn't show on his face. Ianto's programming designed to safeguard the massive Torchwood database in case of alien invasion had worked. He did a mental high five.

"Then I did this" she typed, "and this happened." The screen filled with code. Code he had written.

"I haven't been able to override this yet, but what I find interesting is this line of code …just here." She highlighted a line of code. "You know signing your own work is the only mistake you made. It makes your programmes instantly vulnerable –providing you can be found of course."

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Two chapters in one week! Wipes sweat from brow. Thanks for the reviews - I hope you are enjoying this.


	17. Cognition

Thank you for the amazing reviews. I love getting them!

**

* * *

Cognition**

Ianto was back in the cell. An alarm had gone off and before he knew what was happening he had been hustled back into his cell. . On the way down Tosh had thrust a cushion and a blanket into his arms with a bottle of water and a Kitkat. He was beginning to feel as though he could measure the last few days by the amount of Kitkats he had eaten. His body was beginning to crave nutrients and he could feel that slimy mucus in the back of his throat caused by the cheap fats of the biscuits and the microwave pizza.

The cell was over warm and damp at the same time. He could hear a low growling coming from the cell next door. It should have been disturbing but its rhythm was curiously comforting and he found himself drifting. He tried to focus on his situation, but really what could he do? He lay back on the blanket and pillow, arm across his eyes against the light and let his mind empty.

Ianto woke with a start as the creature next door started to howl, his heart thundered in his chest and he threw himself as far away from the cell door as possible. He watched in astonishment as Jack and the small man frogmarched a weevil past his door. It howled in time and out of key with the creature next door, showing Ianto its rows of canines. He moved to the clear door and watched as they pushed it into the cell opposite and locked it in. Jack turned to him and winked, "Ianto! You're awake, good. This is Dr Owen Harper. He's going to give you a full health check. Make sure everything is in working order." He looked ianto up and down with a filthy grin.

"You were dead." Said Ianto

"I thought he was supposed to be bright?" remarked Owen, Jack smirked at him and raised an eyebrow at Ianto

"Where did that come from all of a sudden?" he asked.

"Seeing you with the weevil and Dr Harper– I had a flashback of standing over your body. You were dead and then when the woman turned her gun on me you got right back up!"

"Just a little concussion."

"I know what I saw"

"And what did you see?"

"You were dead and then you gasped back to life. I was kneeling by your head when it happened."

"Ya can't believe everything you see or hear where Torchwood is concerned, can you Dr Harper?"

Owen shrugged, disinterested and opened the cell door, gesturing Ianto out. "Help me escort him up to medical Jack, I really don't want to get into any conversation with him beyond 'turn your head and cough.' "

Jack smiled again, mocking Owen, "Tell me again Owen how an archivist disarmed one of my top field operatives?"

Owen gave Jack the kind of look that promised painful probing in Jack's future if he didn't shut up, and pushed Ianto towards the stairs.

"So what is this superior physiology all about then? Owen had taken base line readings – ECG, EEG, lung capacity and temperature and several vials of blood which he was now inserting into a testing machine.

"To be honest I'm not sure – not being medically trained I didn't understand much of what was in my file, and all this happened before I had the chance to find out."

Owen gestured him off of the examination table and next to a small machine. He was shaking a vial of Ianto's urine as he did so, holding it up to the light as though it held the secret of eternal youth.

"I would have thought that would have been off limits to you. Put your hand flat on the glass plate." Owen flicked a switch and a 3D scan of Ianto appeared on the tiles above him. Owen put down the urine and looked up at the image.

"I was only given the project to firewall the data base three months ago, and the medical files only came over a few weeks ago. Is that really what I look like inside? It's kind of neater than I expected. Everything fits together so well." Ianto's voice became worried "What's that shadow down there?"

Owen lifted eyebrow and smirked. "That would be your Pizza. Someone needs to eat more veggies."

"Chance would be a fine thing. Look, if I unlock the database will you explain what I am? All I know is that they wanted me to be a soldier, some sort of genetic engineering and that's it."

Owen looked at him speculatively. Despite the whole gun to the head incident Ianto had been entirely cooperative with them, and it was a small price to pay to access the database.

"I'll speak to Jack."

"A shower would be good too."

"Don't push your luck."


	18. Refresh

A little bit of Jack/Ianto interaction, a little bit of Angst, and Owen's Owen and Susie is...

* * *

**Refresh**

Jack escorted Ianto to the shower room. He had dug a couple of towels out of a locker, and showed Ianto the shower controls, then settled on the slatted wooden bench that ran along one side of the room.

Ianto looked at Jack for a beat, then turned his back and started to undress. He unzipped his trousers then wrapped a towel round his waist before wriggling around underneath to get his trousers down without exposing himself. It reminded him of trips to the beach when he was a kid – his Mum had sewn them all tubes of towels with elastic round the neck to get changed underneath. This was more difficult though as the towel barely fitted and he had to hold it closed with one hand and fiddle with the other. He swore he heard a snort of laughter behind him, but resolutely ignored it.

Ianto turned on the shower and looked for the curtain to close it. There was none. He switched off the shower and went to the next cubicle, then the next. No privacy curtain. He turned to Jack, still holding the towel closed around his middle.

Ianto raised an eyebrow "Why are there no curtains?"

"Where would be the fun in that?" Jack was grinning widely. Blue eyes sparkled with mischief as they travelled appreciatively down Ianto's chest.

Ianto rolled his eyes. "I suppose asking you to wait outside would be too much?"

"As I said, where would be the fun in that?"

"Are you always this inappropriate?"

"Are you always this uptight?"

"If I say yes will that make you leave this room?"

Jack just sparkled at him and settled back, arms crossed, "Protocol. You're technically a prisoner, so you don't get private ablutions."

"Did you just use the word ablutions?"

Jack nodded and looked proud. "I thought being Welsh you would have played rugby. Don't you all bathe together afterwards?"

"That is such a stereotype. For your information I never played rugby past the age of 12. "

Ianto tossed the towel at Jack and stood with his back to him under the shower. Jack enjoyed the view, very much.

Ianto stepped out of the shower to find Jack had left the room. He hadn't been aware of him leaving, but was relieved he could towel off in private. The room was a comfortable temperature, and the water had been hot. There were no radiators that Ianto could see, and he thought the heat might be geothermal. He went to put his clothes on, but they were missing. He cursed, wrapped the inadequate towel around himself and sat down to wait on the wooden bench, he realised then that the floor was warm all over, but especially so in front of the bench and he relished the comfort.

He was just wondering if he should go and find someone when Susie walked in with a pile of clothes.

"Jack got called away, said you would need these." She handed him the clothes then stood there waiting.

"Do you think you could turn around? Give me a bit of privacy?"

Susie rolled her eyes and turned. "Not like I haven't seen one before you know. Though why you men think we women want to look at that I have no idea. Have you ever seen a naked man run?"

Ianto thought he would only get into trouble if he tried to answer so kept quiet. The clothes were his size, new undies, old Jeans and a graphic T shirt (Cheese – the ultimate fridge Ninja), odd socks and flight slippers. There was a hole in the jeans which looked disconcertingly like a bullet hole.

Susie escorted him up to the working level. He felt more like a prisoner with Susie than he had with Jack. She kept him in front and in sight at all times, her directions curt, voice neutral.

She directed him to a ratty sofa. "Sit" then went over to a work station and ignored him.

Ianto sat forward elbows on knees, tense. He could hear Owen in the autopsy bay, but there was no sign of Tosh. He didn't feel up to interrupting Susie, so waited for whatever was going to happen to happen. He had made his best offer. After a while he leant back on the sofa and started to take in what he could of the rest of the hub. He wondered what the others would say if they realised that he had memorised the way to and from the cells, and the bathroom. In his mind's eye he could see the floor of this working level from above with the layout of all the equipment, stairs etc as though on a diagram. It was part of his enhanced abilities to be able to map and remember every where he went, and be able to locate all exits within minutes of arriving. He would be able to locate most of them in the dark as well. Not that it was relevant at the moment. He wasn't going anywhere. He let his eyes close, and sighed through his nose. Lisa was gone and with her whatever she had meant to him. She had been his first love and his first betrayal. He had compartmentalised that hurt, but couldn't resist poking at it to see if it was as painful as he thought. It was.

Tears ran down his cheeks as he remembered how magical, how light and special their relationship had been. Like a fairy tale, but of course that was exactly what it had been, a carefully constructed and very happy lie. He thought that fairy tales were a type of morality tale and wondered what he should learn from it. He thought it would be to never give his heart again.

Jack observed Ianto from his office. He noted the weariness in the way he leant back against the sofa, the subtle way his eyes drifted around the hub and the moment where he stopped processing and turned inward. When the tears started to fall he went down and stood in front of the miserable young man.

"You need something?" his voice was kindly. Ianto opened his eyes. Sighed again.

"I need to run. I've been inside too long, I'm twitchy."

"I can't let you out of the hub. You'll have to use Tosh's WII."

"Um, WII fit is for people who aren't. I could make use of the different levels in the hub and run indoors."

"I need you where I can see you."

"I meant the levels on this floor. Nothing out of sight."

Jack looked at him, head on one side, thinking.

"You'll get to see something of what I can do."

"OWEN!" Jack yelled. Owen's head appeared above the edge of Autopsy. "WHAT?"

"Ianto's gonna give us a show. Do what you need to do to see how it affects him."

Owen appeared a few moments later, with a small machine he measured Ianto's heart rate, BP and blood gases. Then he slapped him on the arm and told him to get on with running up and down stairs.

Ianto smirked to himself as he took his flight slippers and socks off, then took off for the stairs to Jack 's office, he went from there to the top level in the hub without a breath, jumping over railings and leaping from level to level like a lemur (no tail though), he did a tour of the high level, walking tightrope style across beams, crawling through the hydraulics of some lift type thing, then swinging himself back down to ground level, coming to a halt in front of Jack and Owen. Owen turned to Jack, arms folded across his chest. "So, we gonna rent him out to Cirque du Solei?"

Jack rolled his eyes, "just do the tests Owen." It was then that Ianto noticed Susie putting her gun back in her drawer.

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Bless you all for commenting and alerting, and generally staying with...


	19. Jack

This is dedicated to Orion Lyonesse and Harshinib who have been so encouraging with their reviews. Bless you both!

* * *

**Jack**

Jack was not usually one to ignore either his emotions or his intuition, but he was deliberately putting both on one side in favour of a form of armed neutrality where Ianto was concerned. He watched without reaction as he ran through the hub, he saw Owen's dawning admiration and felt Susie's suspicion. Earlier Tosh had been impressed with his computer knowledge. Jack decided he needed more empirical evidence before deciding if Ianto was a threat or an asset he wanted to recruit. One gorgeous body and an acrobatic routine was not a sure fire route into Jack's team. (Although if he had met him on a night out it would be a different story.)

Jack wasn't sure he believed in the genetic enhancement story. Yes Ianto was bright, fit, and lithe but so were a lot of people. On his side was the long term interest T1 had in him, but that may have been down to his father, who, Jack's research showed had been in UNIT and met a past version of the Doctor, on the minus side was the criminal conviction and the lack of conventional schooling.

Not to mention he had tried to save a Cyberwoman, though Jack had to give him credit for his fast reactions when he realised the true threat she posed.

Jack wandered over to the autopsy bay and leant on the railings to watch Owen doing more tests on Ianto, he sipped from a Starbucks cup, wondering at how something so expensive could have so little taste. Ianto glanced up and saw his expression.

"I also make a great cup of coffee – if you have some beans I could make some when Owen's finished here," he said

"Our machine hasn't been used since the 1980's, its unusable, "replied Jack

"Really? It's unusual for a Gaggia lever machine to go wrong."

"Well when I say unusable, I guess I mean no one knows how to use it."

"It takes a certain amount of expertise."

"Which you have?"

"When I first moved to London I worked for a vintage car restorer, he also had a Gaggia; it was my job to keep the team caffeinated."

Owen looked up at Jack, "You should hire him just on that basis."

Jack grinned, "Tosh has bought back some takeaway if you're finished with your prodding."

The team congregated in the conference room. Jack noticed that Susie sat opposite Ianto and watched him openly. Tosh sat next to him and kept sending him surreptitious glances. Owen sat at the end of the table, distant from them all playing with his chopsticks, looking cool but watching Ianto from the corner of is eye with a barely concealed admiration. Ianto was eating his Chinese as though bought up with chopsticks; he never dropped a morsel and was able to lift the food with a small amount of rice attached. Unlike Jack who liked to fill his mouth, Ianto was dainty but rapid, obviously hungry. He had turned down his Starbucks in favour of cool water. Jack had also observed that he had looked around the room when he first came in, but then was content to concentrate on his food. His face was unreadable but Jack noticed a few nervous tells, his feet were planted firmly on the floor, and he sat as though poised to run at the first sign of trouble. Of course the fact that Susie had quite deliberately placed a stun gun by the edge of her plate might be to blame for that.

As the first hunger pangs were appeased Jack asked for reports. Tosh was up first. She demonstrated the code that Ianto had written and explained the firewalls he had put in place to protect the Torchwood database. She intimated that it would have been a challenge for her to develop such a system.

"I can give you the code to unlock it, I mean it was intended to safeguard it from hostiles, not their own people," Said Ianto

"That's OK, you are good, but Tosh is a genius," commented Jack.

Tosh smirked shyly and typed a few commands, Ianto's heart based logo turned into the more usual honeycomb and then to the menu for the archive data base. Ianto raised his eyebrows and nodded. His stomach clenched as he felt himself get closer to his answers, and he couldn't help wondering what those answers would mean for his own future. Jack was aware of the tension gathering in Ianto's slim form. It was a while since he had been able to read someone like he could Ianto.

Next up was Owen.

He remained sitting, and hadn't bothered with any visuals. "Ianto is a very fit athlete. His heart rate and blood gases returned to normal as efficiently as any Olympian. His reflexes are about 15% faster than is usual for a man his age and the brain scan shows that he is using about 13% more of it than most humans, spread over a wide range of brain centres. His hippocampus for example is about the same size as those found in London cabbies who have undertaken 'the Knowledge'. Compared to Tosh, our resident genius who has development mainly in those areas associated with mathematics, spatial awareness and logic, Ianto is more of a generalist genius, if you get my drift. His eyesight and hearing are perfect. His skeleton is slightly denser than the norm with as sound an immune system as I have seen. All organs, blood physiology, U&Es, haemoglobin, thyroid, etc etc all perfect. He is either a slightly improved human or he is as humans should be. Oh and when I examined his cells for aging etc they appear not to be. His mitochondrial DNA is different, probably human but with something that didn't come from his mother, if his mother was the true Celtic Welshwoman her records and Ianto claim she was."

"Human .2," Ianto ground out, and rubbed his hand over his face.

"What is that?" Asked Susie

"What the Cyberman called the humans they converted," replied Jack, he was slightly disconcerted to see that Susie was beginning to look impressed.

"It's what Lisa called me, that I was already improved so they didn't actually have to convert me, I could just help them," Ianto paused, "I understand if you feel I should be put in a cell. How do we know what I might do?"

Jack shook his head and smiled at him, "nah, not while we're all here. Even you would have a problem taking us all out. 'Sides, Susie has her stun gun!"

Ianto did not feel entirely reassured.

Jack looked at the team, "OK we have a start on the facts, now what are your opinions? Susie?"

"We should make use of him while we study further how he is different. A probation period with limited security, staying in the hub, no weapons access. We should also study the limits of his resilience and ability, perhaps in certain selected field tasks. Weevil hunting perhaps."

Ianto had no words, but Jack heard the increase in breathing rate.

"Tosh?"

Tosh gave Ianto a reassuring smile, more eyes than mouth. "I would love to work with him, we could really use his expertise with finding our way around the database, and he could also help us with research and archiving. He has a brilliant mind."

Jack felt Ianto relax slightly.

"Owen?"

"We do need to be cautious and do a bit more research; apart from anything else if he goes in the field at all I need to know how to help him if he gets injured. I want to review what is in the database in case there is anything that might endanger him in what those twats did, but yeah, basically he should stay, I don't think he's a danger to us. What he does here is up to you though boss."

"Ianto?"

Ianto looked surprised to be asked.

"I think Owen has it about right, and Tosh I would love to help you," he looked directly at Jack, avoiding Susie, "I will make it clear though that I will not be a soldier for you. Yes I can fight, I have enhanced physical ability, but I do not believe in using weapons or killing, there is always an alternative, you just have to look for it."

Jack felt like he had been punched in the solar plexus. His mouth hung open.

"What did I say?" Asked Ianto.

"Nothing, just reminded me of someone I once knew." said Jack. "You're in. Susie prepare the transfer papers. Ianto, my office now." He stood and swept from the conference room.

* * *

Black Cab drivers in London (and possibly some other major UK cities) have to memorise the whole road system of Greater London before they can get their license. Scans show an increase in size of the hippocampus. Apologies if the science is wrong, I cobbled it together from a mix of my own vague neuropsychiatric knowledge, New Scientist magazine and Bones.


	20. Numb

**Numb**

Ianto wondered when the wall had gone up. It was as though he could see all that was happening but was no longer a part of it. He could barely feel curiosity about his background or what had astonished Jack. He had found himself tidying up the table in the conference room, unable to take any more of Jacks loud impetuousness. It took Owen nudging him for Ianto to realise what he was doing and to put down the containers and make his way to Jack's office.

Jack had taken one look at him and sat him down on the sofa in his office and poured him a small amount of brandy. Ianto was aware of the smooth warmth running down into his stomach and tingling out along his veins. He relaxed infinitesimally and let out a long breath. He then noticed that Jack was gently stroking the back of his neck. It should have been inappropriate, but it was curiously comforting. Nevertheless, Ianto pulled away slightly and clearing his throat, said, "You wanted to see me?"

"It will wait. I hadn't realised how much things were getting to you. Sit and unwind a little."

"And then what? Back to my cell like a good little prisoner?"

"Just for tonight. Tomorrow we'll set you up a room. I don't want to let you out of the hub yet."

"So still a prisoner, just not confined to a cell."

"Just until we are sure you are safe."

Ianto gave him a look. "Up until the incursion I was allowed to have a life you know. I had my own flat, fiancé, bank accounts."

"Who found the flat for you? Who did your fiancé actually work for?"

"Fuck you." Ianto banged the glass down on the table, and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Maybe one day."

Ianto found himself snorting, trying not to let the laugh escape. "Do you have any idea how inappropriate that was?"

Jack grinned. "That's better. We will get it sorted Ianto. Just give us time, and let us keep you safe."

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWT

Ianto was sitting on the metal table in autopsy, yet again. His bum was numb and chilled. He had tried to sit on a blanket but it kept slipping off, taking him with it. Owen was running yet more tests and scans. Tosh had downloaded his basic medical file and Owen had decided he needed to re run tests to compare like with like. Some of Ianto's file was further encrypted and Tosh was working hard on it, glasses slipping down her nose, head flicking back and forth between her screens. Susie and Jack were doing the rounds of the local car boot sales, apparently car boot sales attracted anthropologists from across the galaxy and they sometimes got a little over excited, Lava lamps were very collectible for some reason.

The alarms went and Jack came over to autopsy and admired Ianto's bare chest. Ianto found he was able to ignore him, he was beginning to realise it was just Jack's way. Jack shook a bag in the air. "Coffee beans! There was a stall selling them freshly roasted!"

"At a car boot sale?"

"Nah, at the foodie exhibition in the millennium centre. We also bought Viennoiserie. "

"Vienn who?" Said Owen

"Posh pastries" said Ianto. He hopped off the table and up the steps, taking the bags from Jack he sniffed the beans and looked in the pastry box. He nodded, satisfied. "Good choices."

Jack felt very happy that Ianto was pleased. When he tasted the coffee, he was even happier. "You're now officially in charge of drinks."

Owen looked at Ianto, "I dub you - Torchwood Teaboy."

"I prefer the title Coffee King."

Jack's laugh was loud and care free. Susie just sipped her coffee and eyed Ianto speculatively.

Ianto was making up his new bed when Susie walked in. He watched as she looked around, wandering across to wipe a finger down the slightly damp wall, she stared at the dirt on her finger for a moment then rubbed her fingers together before turning back to him, head on one side, as though he was a particularly interesting artefact

"So, Jack likes you. I guess that means you'll be staying?"

"I haven't exactly been given a choice in the matter," he tried to straighten out the sleeping bag again but it refused to lie flat, curling over to one side as though there was a body in it already.

"But you will stay? I mean once you've been a part of all this you can't just leave can you?"

Ianto looked at her "my life has never exactly been in my control Susie."

"So you're just going to submit to what ever Jack wants then?"

"The jury is still out on that, but while there's a chance to get to the bottom of what's happened to me, I'll comply."

"In that case you'd better come up to the main Hub. Tosh has found some early records about you," with that Susie sauntered out of the room leaving Ianto to wonder what she was really interested in.

Tosh was sat on the sofa holding a tatty buff folder. She patted the cushion next to her. "I found a link to a file in our archive; I thought we could look at it together."

The folder looked to be of a type in use for personnel records around the time of Ianto's birth. The name on it was Geraint Jones, his father's name.

"My Dad worked for Torchwood?"

"For about three years. He transferred from the SAS after an alien incident," she opened the folder. Ianto's Dad looked back at him. In the photo he was wearing his SAS uniform, a candid shot, looking slightly sideways towards the camera, blue eyes clear and undaunted, a lazy smile on his lips. He was about the age Ianto was now, and the resemblance was clear.

Ianto reached out and touched the picture, "It's hard to imagine him so young, he looks like his whole future is ahead of him, full of promise. What the hell happened to change him so much?" Ianto spoke to himself rather than Tosh and Susie

"What do you mean?" asked Tosh

Ianto shook his head. "Never mind, what else does the file say?"

"Geraint was on leave after serving in the Falklands conflict in 1982. He was visiting his girlfriend in Newport and they were having an afternoon out in the local nature reserve. By the end of the afternoon she was dead. He was obviously bought in for questioning. Fortunately for him he insisted on talking to Torchwood and because of his standing in the SAS the police called us in," as Tosh paused for breath Ianto took up the story.

"And he described how little blue men took his girlfriend and hung her from an oak tree."

Ianto and Susie looked at him in astonishment; Ianto stood and brushed his hand over his hair and the back of his neck. "I think Jack may know about the little blue men of Allt Yr Yn nature reserve. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to finish my room," he mustered all his dignity and walked away.

* * *

Thank you again for the lovely reviews. I love getting them. Unlike the cold I am getting. Thanks to the generosity of my student who refused to go off sick.


	21. Low Heights

**Low Heights**

Jack had expected to find Ianto curled up on the bed in his room, but he was not there. The bedside lamp was on, but the bed was not made up. Confused, Jack went out the door and looked around, Ianto was not in sight but he could hear a low scrubbing sound. He followed it along the corridor and down two steps into a lower and less civilised area of the hub. He turned into a disused room to find Ianto scrubbing at the wall. In the middle of the room was an old wooden camping cot with a screwed up sleeping bag on it.

"Ianto, what are you doing?" Jack queried

Ianto jumped and turned to look at him, his hands were red where he had been scrubbing the dirt off the walls.

"Trying to distract myself, I thought as this was to be my room I would try and make it a bit more habitable before the next interrogation starts."

"Your room?"

"This is the one Susie bought me to." Ianto was matter of fact.

"Uh huh, well she must have got confused, I told her room 67B subsection 11a corridor C not 67B subsection 11a lower corridor C. Come on, I'll show you."

"You can see why she might get it wrong."

Jack thought a moment. "Seems perfectly clear to me. Anyway here you are."

The room was a clean and dry box with a single bed, chest of drawers standing in for a bedside table and a canvas wardrobe. A lamp and radio alarm glowed softly. Ianto nodded and started forward to make up the bed, in doing so his hands caught the light and Jack could see they were red and swollen, he reached out and turned them to look at them better.

"These look sore. Why were you scrubbing the walls without gloves?"

"I couldn't find any."

Jack realise that Ianto had said something about needing to be distracted before the next interrogation. He looked more closely at the young man before him. Ianto looked washed out, blue veins pulsed gently across his cheek and his eyes were as red as his hands.

"Come on. I know a place where you can get a better perspective on things." Jack hauled him away from the bed,, managing to step on his toes as he did so. Ianto yelped, Jack apologised and checked out his flight socks, which were decidedly damp.

"We'd better get you some decent shoes first." He led Ianto back down the corridor and into a room lined with cardboard boxes. In one corner was a large open box filled with trainers.

"What size are you?"

"9"

Jack started sorting through the box, discarding shoes by throwing them over his shoulder until he came up with a matching pair of size nines. He handed them to Ianto taking back from him the odd pair Ianto had cleared up from the floor.

Jack seemed to have switched into a hyper energetic mode, barely managing to wait while Ianto put on the trainers before ushering him out of the door and back up to the hub. He ignored Ianto's questions about who would put the shoes away, and when Ianto inquired about where Jack was taking him he just grinned and told him to wait and see.

Jack left him for a moment in the middle of the hub whilst he fetched his coat, then as he walked back to him he pressed some buttons on his wrist strap and Ianto watched a paving slab descend.

Jack directed Ianto to stand on it and was amused as Ianto stood unafraid at the edge of the platform, intrigued by the view and the mechanism as they rose through the roof.

Ianto looked at him as they reached the surface, "Impressive, perception filter I presume. Any one ever fallen in?"

Jack just shook his head and walked off.

He took Ianto to the top of the Stadium Tower, the tallest building in Cardiff and conveniently next to the Millennium Stadium. Once inside Ianto had challenged Jack to get to the top first. Jack came second by a long way – he had tried to keep up with Ianto but had to drop to a walk after the fifth floor, whilst Ianto jogged all the way to the top.

Ianto felt much calmer after the exercise, Jack thought he looked sweaty in an appealing way and somehow very young and almost cheerful. Once Jack arrived though, the exuberance dropped away and Jack felt a jolt of concern as Ianto walked to the edge of the building. He was relieved when all the young man did was sit down, legs dangling, allowing the breeze to ruffle his hair. Jack sat beside him and watched the changing expressions on the young man's face.

"I love being up high." Ianto remarked

"Closer to the stars," Jack wondered where that had come from. He wouldn't usually be so open.

"Further away from reality"

"Nearer to infinity"

"And beyond?"

Jack laughed, "I love Toy Story. "

"I can see why, Buzz Lightyear an all."

"Hey, I'm much more like Woody!"

Ianto laughed then fell silent watching the people and cars far below.

"What's going to happen to me Jack?"

"What do you want to happen?"

"I want the last week not to have happened. I want to be with Lisa in our flat, making coffee and stealing kisses. I want the world to go way, I want to talk to Linda about Lisa and watch her smile when she's reading her romances and thinks nobody is looking. I want to be climbing the ladders in the archives or getting on the tube to go and see Ted and help him prepare a car for a show. I want my life back." Ianto spoke fast and low, it was difficult for Jack to hear him above the wind and the traffic noise.

Jack nodded, but before he could say anything Ianto spoke again.

"But it's never going to be like that again is it Jack? Lisa is gone and was never who I thought she was, Linda was converted and you killed her, the archives are destroyed and my life with them. My whole life seems to be governed by something my father did and any illusion of control I had has been shattered."

"And are you shattered Ianto?"

Ianto finally looked at Jack. "I don't know Jack, I just don't know."

* * *

Jack has some answers for Ianto in the next instalment, but how will Ianto take it?

Thank you for the lovely reviews! They really are appreciated.


	22. Sprite

Warning - talk of infanticide and murder.

**Sprite**

They sat for a while. Ianto was surprised the silence was so comfortable. When he thought about Jack he was angry, and suspicious of his motives, he had seen him kill and knew he could be ruthless, yet when he was in front of him, Jack was exciting, kind and supportive. Ianto had no doubt he was a leader and a soldier, but he obviously cared for his team. Ianto found he trusted him – to a point, and despite his execution of Linda, he liked him.

The breeze had picked up and Ianto shivered. Jack considered sharing his coat, but felt Ianto might consider it an intimacy too far, instead he stood and offered Ianto a hand up. "Come on, let's go inside. They have a Costa outlet for the staff; we can get a muffin and talk."

Once they were sat at small table in the foyer, Ianto with a flat white, (because if it wasn't good enough they would replace it,) Jack with an Americano, extra shot, no milk, Jack started talking.

"There's no easy way to tell you this. Your father told Torchwood that the reason the woman was killed in the woods was because she had abandoned her baby boy at the nature reserve. We think that she had an affair whilst your Father was on active duty, became pregnant and because she didn't want him to know about the baby she left it to die of exposure. The forest sprites normally keep themselves hidden, but they found the baby, and took care of it. When she went back to the woods with your father, they killed her and left him literally holding the baby."

Ianto put his cup down exactly in the centre of the saucer, and dabbed his lips with a napkin. Keeping his eyes on the napkin he was now folding precisely he asked, "What happened next?" He was relieved that his voice was not shaking.

"You know that Torchwood investigated. They examined the baby, and then insisted your father adopted you. He married your Mother soon after."

"I'm confused. I thought I might be the baby, but Rhi is older than me, and I am definitely Mum's son."

"Kind of, she was actually the sister of your birth mother, Rhi was your Father and Mum's child from before he went into the army, and your Father is genetically your Father. Sadly it seems your birth Mum had an affair and got her dates muddled up, and for whatever reason went through the pregnancy without medical attention. "

Ianto was aware of Jack talking, but it felt like he was talking about someone else. There was something he had to know though.

"My Mum was in her early twenties when she had me, or rather adopted me. How old was my birth Mum?"

"17"

"Bloody hell." Ianto felt nauseous and dizzy. Not just because of the revelations regarding his birth, but out of horror for the fate of the young estate girl. He remembered Aimee and some of the other girls, they had no female role models and no support. Early pregnancy and multiple partners was the norm for many of them. They were just ordinary kids, adrift in an uncaring world, often having a baby allowed them to have something to love and be loved by for the first time in their lives.

Jack paused for Ianto calm down a little. He himself never ceased to be amazed by the taboos of the 20th an 21st centuries when it came to sex and its association with procreation. Unfortunately this was not the first time he had heard of a child being abandoned because of the taboo against children being conceived out of a monogamous relationship. On his colony world it would be unthinkable – every child was cherished, and couples would not care about bringing up another persons child, In fact every child would have been bought up by several people apart from their birth parent.

Jack watched Ianto fold the napkin into a perfect concertina, then use it to wipe up the spillage form Jack's coffee before suddenly throwing it down and looking Jack in the eye.

"What was her name?"

"Irene Vaughan"

Ianto nodded and stood up. "She'll be in your morgue. I want to see her."

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWWTW

Owen stood next to the drawer that held Ianto's birth mother.

"Look," he said, "You know this is not going to look pretty. This isn't a cryo chamber, although she will be preserved, but as she was already dead they would have autopsied her before they froze her,"

He looked at Ianto. "So, you sure about this?"

Ianto nodded once.

Owen said "Well it's your funeral mate," and pulled the drawer open, ignoring Jacks disapproving glare.

Ianto drew in a sharp breath and stepped forward.

Irene's hair was bleached blond, with dark thinly plucked brows and hazel eyes. Her face was clear of make up, grey under the relentless fluorescent lighting. Her face slack, devoid of expression and around her neck the marks of the noose. Ianto felt no jolt of recognition; a faint familial likeness perhaps. He felt terribly sad for a young life so tragically lost but he could not associate her with his own accident of birth. He reached out and stroked her cheek, horribly it reminded him of the skin on a frozen chicken. Jack squeezed his shoulder and Ianto stepped back, allowing Owen to slide the drawer back into the bank of drawers chillingly labelled Body Archive 003, Ianto knew it stood for victims of alien attack. He looked along the rows (six rows of twelve, and about 60% labelled. Somewhere down here would be Body archive 001 Torchwood agents, 002 Artefact accidents, 004 Dead Aliens, 005 Alien body parts, 005 Human body parts, and possibly the most horrific, 006 unidentified human corpses, collected for the purpose of faking accidents.)

They were walking back to the main hub when Jack asked him about his own experience of the wood sprites. Ianto told him about the clearing in the wood, the laughter and then finding his friends body hanging from the tree. "A couple of days later I saw you there, with the Range Rover. The one I later worked on and stole to get to London."

"I remember that day, I got called in on my day off, I was already in Newport at the market."

"I know. You nearly caught me stealing a CD, but for some reason you let me go."

Jack stopped and stared at Ianto. "That was you?"

Ianto nodded. "I used to do it for the buzz. Why did you let me go?"

Jack shrugged "My comms had activated with the call. If I had to deal with you I would have been delayed."

"Oh. I thought maybe you had some kind of sympathy for youth."

"Na, I just had to prioritise."

"When you were at the nature reserve I watched you, you seemed to look straight up at me. I took to my heels."

"I don't remember that. It was a little while ago. I was probably just checking out the general area."

"Well, you know what it's like as a kid; everything seems to centre round you."

"I hope you enjoyed the CD."

"Um, yeah, of course." Ianto turned a little red.

* * *

I hope you are enjoying this, let me know! I seem to pick up a couple of alerts with each chapter - how about reviewing as well - I'd love to hear from you!


	23. High Noon

I never meant to be away this long. Only excuse is the plot bunnies went into their burrows and the White Rabbit left no clues as to where they went.. Bad Bunny!

**High Noon**

Ianto woke suddenly, his heart racing. He had been dreaming of a blond hazel -eyed cyberwoman trying to convert him, he had been lying in the machine when suddenly Jack had rushed in and despatched her with a swift uppercut and a knife to the ribs. As she fell he woke. He was positive there was someone in the room with him, and that he heard the click of the latch on the door.

He lay for a few seconds listening but the room was eerily silent. Not even the whoosh of the air conditioning system. He lay until it clicked back on, and then looked at his bedside radio alarm. 4.30 am.

He contemplated trying to sleep again, but he was wide awake. He made his way up to the main hub. The light was on in Jack's office and Ianto wondered if it had been him in his room. He made his way to the coffee station and started to make himself a morning cappuccino. If he made his own coffee he followed the Italian habit of only having milky coffee in the mornings. He was concentrating on steaming the milk when he felt a presence behind him. He turned; Jack was leaning against the door jamb, freshly showered and almost dressed for the day.

"That coffee smells really good, any chance of making an extra one?"

Ianto nodded, and turned back to the machine. He poured the milk over the coffee, meticulously ensuring the right amount of foam in each mug. He made a mental note to get some proper cappuccino cups, and then realised he wasn't sure if he would be staying long enough to reorganise the coffee station. He handed over a mug to Jack, who accepted it with a nod and gestured Ianto over to the sofa. They sat and leant back in silence, a sigh of appreciation escaping Jack as he took the first sip. Ianto smirked a little.

Again they sat in comfortable silence, despite Ianto being dressed in an old T shirt and circa 1940 flannelette pyjama bottoms whilst Jack wore, Ianto realised, circa 1940 trousers, braces and a white T. He wondered if the Pyjamas were Jack's. It might account for the strength of the cologne he could smell. It was slightly too strong for the time of the morning, overcoming the scent of the coffee a little.

Jack finished his coffee with a satisfied slurp, patted Ianto on the thigh and stood up.

"Work to do. I'll see you when you're properly up," he walked off leaving Ianto gaping and acutely aware of the feel of Jack's hand on his leg.

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWT

Ianto walked back into his room having showered, Susie was laying a suit on the bed. She turned as he came through the door and gave him a half smile. "Jack thought you might like this outfit. Meeting in the conference room in ten minutes."

Ianto had the feeling that she had been snooping, but as he had nothing of his own with him, he couldn't imagine what she thought she would find.

Once he was dressed and groomed to his satisfaction in the beautiful if somewhat retro suit, Ianto made his way to the conference room. Jack was sat at the head of the conference table, and his eye roved gently over Ianto's form as he entered. , Jack thought he had been right about the suit; Ianto looked damn good in it. Ianto blushed as he became aware of Jacks eyes on him, and carefully avoided eye contact as he found a spare chair and sat down.

Jack spoke, "Ianto, this is the morning team briefing, each member reports on the progress of their work, special projects etc, and then we decide on priorities for the day."

Tosh briefed them on what had been learned about Ianto so far, although she left out some of the more personal details.

Susie then briefed them on some of the other ongoing work the team had on, including a project on an armoured glove.

There followed a semi democratic discussion about the order of work for the day. Jack had the last say.

"No Susie, the glove can wait. We need to get on top of Ianto's mystery first. The glove isn't going any where."

There was a slight snigger from Owen when Jack suggested getting on top of Ianto, and he noticed a sparkle of acknowledgment in Jack's eyes. Ianto wondered if he was always going to be the butt of innuendo.

Later they were all sat in the sunshine eating fish and chips on the jetty in front of the tourist centre. They had managed to scare off all but the most intrepid gulls and pigeons (or sky rats as Owen called them, prompting a tall tale from Jack about the Sky Rats of Omegod 3.)

Tosh was admitting that she had gone as far as she could with Ianto's records and Owen had just shrugged when he was asked for a progress report. Susie had uncovered his Dad's service records, it seemed that he was loaned to UNIT from the SAS to help with a project to do with the Doctor, but what it was, they had been unable to find out. Basically they were at an impasse.

"It seems that you're just gonna have to live in ignorance mate," Owen shrugged, accepting that Ianto was just who he was.

Tosh nodded "We're a little odd here at three. Welcome to the madhouse Ianto!" Tosh waved her bottle of Ramune at him.

Susie waved a chip at him and gave a half smile.

Jack patted him on the knee."So, you in Ianto?"

"There's something I would like to do first."

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

The shade was cool under the trees as they made their way down the hill into the reserve. The canopy turned the light pale green and the scent of blue bells hung heavy on the air. Ianto and jack led the way; Susie was a little slower, watching the screen of her PDA.

The way grew steeper and the underbrush thicker, the scent of flowers grew heavier; Ianto pushed through a stand of coppiced hazel and found himself in the clearing with the ancient Oak tree. Sunlight filtered through onto grass littered with wild flowers of all seasons, bees and butterfly flitted to and fro, the pollen dust caused him to sneeze violently, just once. When he opened his eyes again the sun light was gone, the air chilled and the ground was covered in autumn leaves. The oak tree was bare.

In front of Ianto stood the wizened little man, he looked Ianto up and down, said 'Humph' in a disgruntled manner and disappeared. Ianto blinked in surprise and found himself back in the sunlight again.

He whirled round, Jack was walking the perimeter of the clearing and Susie stood staring at her PDA.

Neither of them seemed to have noticed his disappearing trick. Ianto was about to speak when a small whirlwind arose in front of Susie. A small blue man appeared and took the PDA from her hand. He peered closely at it, poked a few buttons, said "Guilty as charged" and dissolved into motes of dust.

* * *

Sooooo review and forgive for not posting for so long?


	24. Susie

I really want to thank those who reviewed, particulary Orion Lyonnesse, biancaruth, Harshinib and deemamma66. Sorry for not replying - the link wouldn't work.

Anyone going to the MCM Expo in London this weekend? Hoping to be there on Saturday. I will be disguised as someone not wearing a costume, and may well be stood near someone dressed as Harley Quinn. (I'll be the middle aged one carrying all the coats, spare kit, bags etc. 'cos that's what Mums do.) If you think it's me come and say hello!

**Susie**

Ianto rushed over to Susie who was gasping and clutching her throat, Jack ran over falling to his knees by her side, he rolled her over onto her side, and thumped her between the shoulder blades, making sure her airway was clear, then onto her back and thrust her chin up, holding her mouth open to ensure her airway was straight. For a moment her breathing seemed to calm down, but then it stopped entirely. Jack began CPR whilst Ianto called for an ambulance. This far into the reserve they might need the mountain rescue service with their specialised knowledge to reach them. Ianto took over from Jack as he tired, and together they kept the blood flowing around Susie's brain, adding in the occasional breath, because it wouldn't hurt. 15 minutes in, the rescuers found them. They quickly assessed the situation. Susie's heart was in asystole, they de- fibrillated, and unusually it started again. They began oxygen, loaded her onto the stretcher and strapped her in. Together with Jack and Ianto they took her as quickly as possible back up into the more open and flat area of the reserve. The Air Ambulance was landing, and within three minutes Susie was on her way to Cardiff Royal Infirmary.

Jack and Ianto headed for the SUV, but when Ianto went to get in, Jack put a hand on his chest and pushed him away. "I don't want you anywhere near my team. I'll deal with you later." As the SUV drove off, Ianto stared after it.

Ianto became aware that his mouth was hanging open in shock. He closed it with a jarring snap and blinked. He stood for a few more seconds before moving blindly off in the direction of home. He had been walking for a few minutes when he realised what he was doing. He stopped mid step, and turned back the way he had come. Home was no longer in Newport and he was damned if he was going down without a fight. He headed back down towards the reserve and the ancient Oak tree.

As he neared the clearing he noticed that the smell of flowers had dissipated, leaving behind a faint smell of decay and the Bluebells were hanging their heads, as though in shame. Ianto reached into his pocket for Susie's scanner, it was missing. He had picture of it lying next to her body as they fought to save her life. He had neglected to pick it up. He cursed under his breath, and crashed angrily into the open space by the Oak tree. He hunted around for the scanner but he found it difficult to identify where they had been working. Ianto took a deep breath to calm himself, stood up straight with his hands on his hips and looked around carefully. As he looked at the Oak tree a figure emerged into the light. The wizened little man stepped forward and bowed.

"Greetings Grasshopper"

"What?" said Ianto confused.

"May the force be with you?" the man said, Ianto shook his head befuddled and disbelieving. He stalked up to the man, and in a deceptively calm voice asked "Who are you and what did you do to Susie?"

The man looked at Ianto, and said "That is not the right question."

"What?"

The little man raised an enigmatic eyebrow and then faded away until just his eyebrow was left. This too disappeared after a few seconds. For the second time that day Ianto was aware that his mouth was hanging open. Wondering when he had fallen down the rabbit hole he stumbled backwards and sat down hard on one of the tree trunks laid in a circle around the tree.

The air moved beside him and a blue man appeared. He held out the scanner, Ianto took it, and the man disappeared without speaking.

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

Jack waited in the overcrowded A&E department. He had been told off for pacing when he had nearly tripped up a small child, making it wail, and he was now sat on a highly uncomfortable plastic chair wedged between a drunk who lolled on him and smelt of pee and an overly chirpy 89 year old who was waiting to be checked over after having a bit of a fall. She obviously lived alone and enjoyed giving Jack a blow by blow account of life as lived by 89 year olds in TODAY'S SOCIETY. She really did speak in capitals. Jack had a shrewd suspicion he would lose the will to live before he got any news of Susie. Every time a member of staff walked by he lifted his head to see if they were looking for him, but they all spoke to other people. The reception desk was unmanned, so he had no joy there. Finally a young woman in dark green trousers and white tunic came to speak to Mavis, the woman next to him. She introduced herself as the Occupational Therapist for A&E, and she was going to assess and advise Mavis about falls, but Mavis cut her short.

"This gentleman has been waiting for an hour for news of his friend dear. Before you sort me out, perhaps you could help him?"

The young woman looked at Jack, gave him a practised smile and nodded

"Of course, what is your friend's name and why did they come in?"

Jack explained, and the woman went over to the computer at reception to check on Susie.

Jack followed her, waited impatiently whilst she logged onto the system and then gave her Susie's full details.

The woman, Elspeth, told him that Susie was now on the intensive care unit and directed him how to get there. He thanked her, too anxious to flirt and took off in a swirl of coat tails.

It took half an hour before he was allowed in to see Susie, because the unit had another emergency and he was forced to wait outside until they could spare a member of staff to accompany him. By then Owen had joined him in the tiny waiting room with its atmosphere of despair and exhaustion. A small TV played a kids cartoon over and over; raggedy magazines littered the coffee table that was too big for the room. In one corner an elderly man slept fitfully, polished shoes contrasting with the edge of his pyjama bottoms peeking out from under his gabardine trousers. Thankfully there was a small kitchen with fairly decent instant coffee and Jack and Owen fortified themselves whilst they waited. Jack had wanted to play the Torchwood card and sweep into the ITU, but Owen had pointed out that that would annoy the staff and also put someone else's care and life at risk. Even the ITU had its staffing issues in the NHS.

They finally were allowed in, the staff member who came to get them also waking the old man and settling him beside his wife, who Jack thought was possibly the frailest being he had ever seen and still be breathing.

Owen talked to the charge nurse, while Jack held Susie's hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb. Despite the oxygen mask and monitor leads she looked as peaceful as he had ever seen her, as though she was no longer searching for something intangible.

The charge nurse left, mind already on the next task, and Owen walked over to Susie, he assessed her with a quick sweep over her face and body, and then glanced up to the monitors, he grunted, apparently satisfied and turned to Jack.

"Right. They reckon it was heart attack, probably a congenital defect that kicked in. Despite being in asystole for a while her heart is in pretty good shape. She was conscious for a bit, and lucid, which is a good sign. They're keeping her asleep for a while and if all goes well she will be transferred up to high dependency in the morning. Well, unless another emergency comes in and they need the bed more than her."

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWT

Ianto sat on the tree trunk, scrolling through the information collected by the scanner. If he was interpreting the information correctly, the clearing was both in this dimension and another, overlaid and at points mixing together. This was why the little men were able to appear and disappear at will. It also explained the different temporal changes Ianto had experienced, such as the change from summer to winter, and all the flowers being in bloom at once.

It still left questions however, such as what they had done to Susie, what she was guilty of and what was the question Ianto should be asking?


	25. Ianto

Thank you for your patience. here it is, with next chapter to follow more swiftly. (No promises for the one after that though.)

**Ianto**

Ianto sat quietly reviewing the details on the scanner. He became absorbed in the data, unaware of his surroundings. Gradually though he grew cold and his bum numb from the hard wood he was sat on. Finally he ran his hand over his face, yawned and stretched. It was twilight, in more romantic times this would have been called the gloaming.

As he came back to himself he realised he was not alone. In a semi circle at his feet were about five of the little blue men. They all stared solemnly at him, legs crossed and arms wrapped around their knees. Not really knowing what to say, Ianto stared back.

A movement from the Oak tree made him look up. The wizened old man walked towards the group.

He stopped at the back of the five blue men and sighed. "I'm sorry Ianto, about your friend, about the confusion. I thought you remembered more than you do."

Ianto swallowed, "I know nothing. Not about you, or what I am, what happened to Susie"

All the blue men changed position at once, kneeling up and tilting their heads to the right, as though listening. The wizened man spoke again. "She is just waking up. She will be well. We intended to scare her, but did not take account of her congenital heart problem. However it is now taken care of."

"How do you know she is alright?"

The blue men positively smirked. "We know!" They chorused. It was highly creepy.

"She is involved in research that has serious consequences for mankind, energies that should be left alone. She thinks that you may be a channel for those energies and has been directing her own energy towards finding out about you," said Wizened man. Ianto thought he must find out his name soon.

"All of Torchwood has been directing their energy to finding out about me, including me." Ianto was not sure he sounded very coherent.

The wizened man nodded. "Yes, but of these energies we know. Jack of the endless energy, who matches you, Owen of the healing energy that enhances, Toshiko of cerebral energy that understands and Ianto of the humankind, who balances. Susie lacks energy and is the seeker. She needs direction to find her way, or she will dissipate and be lost."

"You know that makes no sense whatsoever" said Ianto

The blue men sank down on their heels and looked down at the ground. "Oh."

Wizened man looked thoughtful. "It is enough to know that you need to keep an eye on her. The rest you will figure out on your own I think. How are you and Jack getting along?"

Ianto thought he saw a twinkle in the man's eye. "We were doing OK until Susie, now he wants nothing to do with me."

"Yes he always is a bit impetuous, that's why he matches you."

Ianto felt exasperated. "For goodness sake, could you stop talking in riddles and give me a direct answer please!"

The blue men stood up, crossing their hands in front of their crotches, for all the world like the defence in a soccer team waiting for a free kick. They walked backwards, and the group slowly dissipated, leaving Ianto alone in the clearing.

Ianto stood in frustration and swore. A distant voice chided him for his language.

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWT

Jack returned to the hospital first thing in the morning to find Susie sat up in bed eating a rather sorry looking cooked breakfast, on the locker next to her was a small cup of tea. The woman in the bed next to her was calling continuously in a childish tone for "Brenda". Her tray was out of reach and the tea had spilt down her nightie.

"Jack! Thank God, could you get me out of here? They say I have to wait for the medics to give me the all clear, but that woman is driving us all nuts! She hit one of the nurses earlier and she's been screaming all bloody night!"

Jack opened his mouth, but nothing really came out. He was a little shocked by Susie's attitude, but gave her the benefit of the doubt; after all she had a really close call yesterday and was probably still a little the worse for it. "Right I'll just check with the nurses." He did so, but also checked on the status of the woman in the next bed, turned out she had Alzheimer's and had been admitted with an acute delirium due to dehydration and renal failure. Medication might calm her down, but might also bring on a stroke, at the least take her off her feet so all they could do was manage her symptoms, and wait. No one had the least idea who Brenda was. Jack longed for the genetic changes that would eliminate dementia for good.

As Susie got dressed Jack sat with the woman, holding her hand and encouraging her to drink. He had told the nurses who Brenda was. Jack had recognised Nancy from many years before. Brenda had been her partner, but Nancy's family refused to acknowledge the relationship and prevented Brenda from visiting. Jack resolved to try and fix the situation.

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWT

Ianto pocketed the PDA and ran back up to the entrance to the nature reserve. The air forcing its way into his lungs felt good, the slight muscle burn reminding him that he was still alive, and as he ran the scent of the woodland lifted his spirits. Even if Jack rejected him he felt sure that a new door would open for him somewhere.

As he reached the edge of the nature reserve a small red sports car drove up in a spurt of gravel and Owen got out and leant against the bonnet to wait for Ianto to come up to him.

"Nice wheels" remarked Ianto with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, I thought you might need a lift back, seeing as how Jack was a bit of a prat yesterday."

"Yesterday? I've been out here all night?" Ianto walked around to the passenger side of the Austin Healey Sprite.

"Uh huh. You want to know how Susie is?" Owen got back in the car.

"According to the occupants of the woodland she's fine. Is it true?"

Owen looked sideways at Ianto as he turned the ignition key. He nodded slowly. "Yep, Jack's picking her up as we speak. Your playmates tell you anything else useful?"

"Mostly a load of enigmatic crap, they were out to scare Susie, but didn't mean to hurt her. They reckon she's doing some dangerous research and wants to involve me in it. They appear to have downloaded a lot of data onto the PDA. You can take it into the Hub and look at it." Ianto pulled the PDA out of his pocket and held it on his lap.

An hour later they arrived back at the Hub. The cog door rolled back to a fanfare of klaxons, and Jack looked up from where he was leant over Toshiko's shoulder. He lifted his chin at Ianto, and returned to his perusal of the monitor in front of him. Ianto decided that this meant he could stay and he followed Owen over to his work station. They downloaded the data from the PDA and Ianto went to make coffee. As he returned he found Jack now leaning over Owen's shoulder, looking at the information Ianto had been given in the nature reserve. He was giving Owen about the same amount of personal space as he had given Toshiko. That is to say, none at all. Toshiko was settling in on the other side of Owen. Ianto cleared his throat and the three of them looked at him. Toshiko smiled warmly and took her bone china mug; Owen nodded and accepted his Simpson's alien mug, whilst Jack leered his thanks for the blue and white striped pint mug.

"How's Susie? Ianto asked warily. Jack looked over at him. "Fine, back home getting some sleep. Seems she had a congenital defect that could have killed her any time. In fact it seems your playmates actually saved her life. I guess we were lucky it happened where it did." He turned back to the monitor, "Tosh, what's this algorithm here? It doesn't seem to fit with any of the other data."

Owen spoke, "bloody hell, none of it makes sense to me. I think I'll leave you two to it." Owen backed out from under Jack's pointing arm. He winked at Ianto and headed to the medical bay. Ianto moved in next to Jack, who immediately pushed him down onto Owen's vacated seat and leant in over his shoulder. Ianto realised why Owen had moved, it was hard to think with Jack so close, and he smelt just gorgeous. Never the less he found his voice and told Jack and Toshiko what he had been told by the Wizended Man. Ianto realised he was giving his name capital letters.

"Ah, yes, that makes sense." Toshiko spoke quietly and tapped a few keys, "these are describing differing types of energy. I need to do a bit more work, but I think I can make them mean something." She became absorbed in the data. Jack tapped Ianto on the arm and tilted his head to indicate they should leave her to it. "We need to get you sorted with a workstation and equipment. I think we could set you up something over here." He walked over to a dingy but empty corner of the hub, the noise from the fountain was audible, but Ianto was grateful to note the corner was dry. As they were hauling a spare desk into place an alarm went off. Jack looked over to Toshiko's desk to see the signal designating a weevil above ground and in a public car park. He grinned at Ianto "So, how about a Baptism of fire? Just you me and an evil weevil?"

Ianto nodded once. This was something real, something he understood, and could get his teeth into.

* * *

If I had been a boy I was going to be called Austin Healey. I was given Scottish names instead, despite being born in the capital of England, to Londoners. Parent's are great aren't they?


	26. Hunt

**Hunt**

Weevil hunting, Ianto discovered, is an extreme sport. An iron man triathlon best undertaken in the Cardiff rain.

To be really perfect, exit the hub via an invisible lift, accompanied by a handsome, enigmatic man who barely acknowledges your presence. Observe thunderhead clouds gather over the bay and run like hell for the SUV as the day darkens and the first spots fall.

Leap into the car, slam the doors shut and hang on for dear life as your Captain throws it around Cardiff as though he's taking part in the Monte Carlo Rally. Do Not Speak for fear of rattling his concentration, but do smile in exhilaration as you begin to relax into the bends because Jack really can drive. Brace yourself for the sudden braking, then find yourself holding your breath as he leans across to reach into the glove compartment to get you some equipment. God, he smells really good.

Fumble the comms device into your ear; pocket the gun as you listen to his terse instructions. It really comes down to – Locate weevil, disable weevil, do not disable yourself. Try not to kill it because they may be sentient. Then go!go!go!

Run through the thunderstorm accompanied by the roiling noise and blue flashes, breath coming fast, joints moving sweetly, muscles obeying all commands. Watch as Jack is lit up by the light as he races ahead of you, a Hitchcock figure in a black and white thriller.

Back the weevil towards some trees, gang up on it, spray it and curse as it whips sideways howling into the wind. Momentarily blinded by the spray yourself, follow at a more sedate pace as it disappears down a manhole. Follow, climbing down, down, into the dark, strangely fresh tunnel.

Suddenly the noise of the storm is left behind along with the little daylight, now you follow your Captain once again as he leads the way with his maglight. It is all careful footing; feeling along the brickwork and trying not to breathe too much as the ripe faecal smell develops the further way from the manhole you travel. Sounds travel down here – Jack's slightly raspy breath as he recovers from the running, the dripping echo of water further away, the splash of the ankle deep sewage and from up ahead a grunt.

Suddenly the beast is facing Jack down, running towards him, secure in its own environment and strength. Jack fires, once twice, three times, but the beast keeps coming. Time for you to play your role, as it reaches Jack, count slowly to three, then empty your spray into its face with one hand, and aim carefully with your gun, if it doesn't back down now, maybe your gun might do the trick.

It works. If a weevil had facial expressions this one is surprised as it falls first to its knees, and over backwards.

Now the work really begins. Apparently it cannot be left to die, as that is cruel and will also contaminate the water system. Part three of the triathlon is hoisting a full grown weevil, a dead weight of relaxed muscle and hard bone, with annoyingly snagged teeth and claws, up a sewage pipe and back to the SUV.

Jack's nod of satisfaction is Balm of Gilead to your bruised and lonely soul.

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWT

Jack is aware of Ianto, even more aware of the small distance between them as the lift ascends. He notes that Ianto has youth's ability to move from almost sulky angst to near joy, just by being forced to run away from the rain. He himself is not quite at the point of forgiving Ianto for Suzie's heart attack, knows it was probably not Ianto's fault, but hell, he nearly lost a member of His team, His second in command. His acidic, strangely sweet Susan.

He takes pleasure in trying to scare Ianto with his driving, but realises that Ianto understands that he is not in any real danger and Jack remembers that Joy riding was a part of Ianto's upbringing, probably since before puberty. He leans deliberately across Ianto to fetch him a comm. device and smirks to himself when he realises Ianto is holding his breath. 51st Century pheromones, Ianto has no idea!

Very little shakes Ianto, he does not need to question Jacks orders, is quick to take direction in the field and Jack admires his speed and agility. In the sewer Ianto shows an ability to think beyond his orders. As the weevil comes towards them he notes Ianto's sharp intake of breath, hears him swallow, sees the gun as it is raised into his eye line, steady, accurate and deadly. Jack wants to laugh at the expression on the weevils face, but thinks Ianto may take it the wrong way.

Testing Ianto, he makes him do the bulk of the work in getting the body out of the sewer and back to the SUV and Hub, uttering some near crap about sentience and cruelty, knowing full well the Weevil is at death's door. He is pleased however that Ianto does not question his compassion. Just nods his head, and heaves on the heavy end of the weevil.

When they finally shut the boot on the body, he looks Ianto in the eye and nods. Ianto blushes and Jack resists the urge to stroke his cheek.


End file.
